Meet the Siblings
by Shadow of the Dragons
Summary: What if a few of the racers (Taro, Nolo, Tork, Vert, and Shirako) have siblings? And what if they just so happen to be racers themselves? And what if Tezla invites them to race in the Realms, along with their older siblings? I'll tell you what happens: Sibling Rivalry taken to a whole new level.
1. Meet the Siblings

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hot Wheels Acceleracers, just Terra, Talia, Verity, Gale, and Aurora.**

* * *

My name is Terra Kitano. You haven't heard of me, but you have probably heard of my brother, Taro. Yeah, the rich billionaire that skied down Mount Everest twice. He's really famous. I'm not. I'm just a forgotten relic of the past he would rather forget.

You see, dad cheated on Taro's mom with another woman. Yeah, guess who was the result of that little escapade? You got it, me. I look just like Dad. Taro does too. It's easy to see that we're siblings; even if it is half siblings. Same black hair, same warm brown eyes, same bone structure, everything. It kills me that Dad likes him best.

Yeah, I'm jealous of Taro. He's rich and famous. Dad gave him all the family money in his will. So when he and Taro's mom died in a plane crash, Taro suddenly had access to millions of dollars which he soon turned into billions. What did I get? Nothing. Dad never even acknowledged that his bastard child existed. It hurts, you know?

I was raised by a poor working class mother, with no siblings. I worked too; never got any formal schooling. It's a pain in the butt. Don't tell anyone, but I can hardly read and write, or do math. What little I can do I taught myself. The one thing I was good with was cars.

I made a living painting and fixing cars. When I say I made a living, I mean that I barely had enough money to help Mom pay the bills. And all I can think of is why didn't Dad care more about me and Mom? He knew I existed in this world. There's a photo of him holding me as a baby. So why couldn't he help us when the bank foreclosed on our home and kicked us out? Why couldn't he help us get a home when we needed one? Why couldn't he spare fifty bucks to pay for me to go to school?

…I'm sorry. I let my emotions get the better of me. I've trained myself to hide my emotions, presenting a blank mask. I also usually speak as little as possible, because when I do speak, my voice betrays me. Emotions are not needed in this world, not if I am to survive.

I'm not really mad at Taro, just dad. I really wish I could meet Taro. He doesn't know I exist. Dad never told him that he had a child, although he does know about Dad's affair. The media was talking about it for weeks. It would be impossible for him not to know. I'm just really mad at Daddy Dearest.

Enough about that, though. I'm working on a car that I call Welded, because that's pretty much the whole reason it stays together in the first place. It's pretty beat up, although I worked hard on the paint job to try and hide this fact. It's not finished yet, but hope that I will complete it soon.

* * *

My name is Verity Maddox; and I have the best older brother in the whole wide world! Tork's so amazing, and really nice. He was the one who taught me everything I knew about cars. But once we got into races, we were competitors.

Tork moved out to California a while back, hoping to find some people and form a street team. Our sleepy little town was too quiet for races. So he left, but not before giving me the best gift a thirteen year old girl could ask for: A real bona-fide car! I must've spent days messing around with it. And he even left it blank, so I could give it a cool paint job. He knows how much I love to paint cars. Sure, I couldn't drive it for a few years, but it was well worth the wait. I call it Back Alley. Yeah, a little beat up, just like Tork's car, but I don't care. I love it anyway.

I miss Tork a lot. But I know that one day I'll see him again, so I don't have to worry one bit. He's a strong guy; he can take care of himself. I betcha he's tearing up the streets in California right now! And one day, when I'm a better racer, I'll be out there racing him, too.

It's really easy to see that we're siblings. Both of us have a lot of natural muscle, the same coffee brown skin (Although mine is a lighter shade), black spiky hair, and emerald green eyes. So yeah, it's pretty much a gimme that we're siblings. But my fashion sense is so much better than his. I like wearing ripped muscle tops and distressed jean shorts with lace up combat boots. I like the top because it shows the "tattoo" that I have.

I guess I should explain the tattoo. It's not really a tattoo, just a painting. You see, I wanted to get one, but Mom and Dad said no. So I stuck a bargain. If I could make a semi-permanent ink, I could use it to get a tattoo. So I began experimenting with grease paint, the things actors use. I managed to alter the chemical formula so that it is impermeable to water and soap. I can only clean it off with a special solution I made that negates the impermeability by bonding with molecules in the grease paint. I now have this awesome tiger on my right shoulder. Pretty sweet, right?

My best friend in the world is Talia Pasero. She's this Latina girl with an infectious smile, who loves painting cars almost as much as I do. Often times, we'll work together to fix up old cars and then sell them. We do have a pretty healthy rivalry, as well as being fierce competitors. But if anyone asks, I'm the better racer!

* * *

Aurora Wheeler is the name. My cousin is Vert, and I always call him Greenie, or Green-Boy. Yeah, he hates it, but I don't care. I personally think it is funny how he reacts to it every time I call him that. Yeah, I sure have fun.

I'm a traditional California girl. Sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, a nice tan. Yep, that's me. I guess you could say I'm naïve or ditzy; but hey, I don't care. Life's a party, and I just wanna have fun! I wear blue jean shorts and blue tank tops, with blue sneakers. Yeah, blue's my favorite color, my clothes also have orange and gold accents.

Even when I race, I always have a blast. Life should be fun, and I make it fun! So my constant chatter, as well as my infectious laughter, is often on full blast. I love teasing my cousin a lot, as it never fails to rile him up, which is always hilarious. I often pull several big tricks for April Fool's Day, and they always end up with me rolling on the floor laughing.

I love racing more than anything else in the whole wide world; even more than annoying my cousin. racing is my first love, my life, and my whole identity. And I race with anything and everything; Jet Boats, Jet Skis, boats, ATVs, cars, bikes, dirt bikes, motorcycles, roller blades, skates, by feet; the list goes on and on. I race anytime, anywhere. I guess you could say that I'm addicted to racing, but I say that I'm just really into it.

I can't wait to see my cousin again. But I'm not too sure how happy he'll be to see me.

* * *

Talia Pasero's the name. Disregard anything Verity tells you. I am a much better racer.

I have a big brother named Nolo, who lives out west. Tone used to live out west too. But he died racing Verity's brother, Tork. I'm not mad at them, though. Tone drifted too far in the turn. It wasn't anyone's fault but his own. the funny thing is, is that Nolo and Tork can't stand each other; but Verity and I are best buds. Our brothers don't know about that; but hey, what they don't know won't kill 'em.

I'm about the same height as Nolo, and we both look similar; with the same hazel eyes, black hair, and tannish complexion, but I think I look way better than he does. Hey, it's a sibling thing. I wear jeans, boots, a t shirt, and a jacket, and I think that I look fabulous in them!

I race (Duh!), but I also am an artist. That's how I met Verity. She and I were both in a lot of art classes together at school, so we naturally became friends. Even now we always carry a sketch book around.

Verity and I have a friendly rivalry when it comes to racing. Often times well get into mock arguments about who's faster. Most of the time, this culminates with a race. But we always tie, no matter what. So I guess we're equals in speed and ability, although neither of us want to admit that. Honestly, I'm not sure what I would do if Verity and I didn't race as often as we do.

I have a car that I started building from plans I found in Tone's room. apparently he was gonna build it for me for when I turned 20, but he died before that could happen. Anyway, it's the complete opposite of Verity's car, being a lot more sleek and tech savvy. But hey, I don't care. It's cool, and I like it.

I wonder if anyone else feels the same about racing as Verity and I…

* * *

Gale Takamoto is my name. I'm a Japanese American girl of 16 years, and I LOVE TECHNO MUSIC. Well, I LOVE music in general, but I really LOVE TECHNO MUSIC. Did I mention that I LOVE music?

I have an older brother named Shirako who, like me, is a music junkie. Others don't know how I can still possibly have my hearing after all the loud music I listen to. Honesty, I'm not sure how I still have my hearing. I guess good eardrums just run in the family. Shirako listens to as much music as I do; even more because he's older, and his hearing hasn't gone yet.

I wonder how Shirako is doing. Our parents got divorced, and each of them got custody of one child. I live with mom, Shirako lived with dad until he moved out. I miss him, but sometimes he remembers to write me letters. That's always a treat, receiving a message from him. I haven't seen him since I was six and a half. Mom and Dad never let us visit each other.

I've changed a lot from the wide eyed six year old he knew. I'm a lot taller now, and my hair has grown out. I've stopped wearing it in pigtails and its loose now. But it's still black with natural blue highlighting. It's just like my brothers, but I have dad's stormy gray eyes. Shirako has mom's eyes. I wear a lot of clothing, because I grow cold easily. So yeah, even in the middle of summer I wear, like, three layers. Hey, it's just the way I roll.

I race a lot. No one in New York City can match me in a race. I'm that good. But I don't like to brag about it too much. Often times, people who race me aren't aware that I'm their opponent until the race is over with. I drive a modified Chevy Avalanche that I've outfitted with the loudest sound system I could cobble together. It can drown out a rock concert. I know that because I've literally done it for kicks.

I usually don't talk a lot, only when it's absolutely necessary, or when I have a strong opinion about something. Apparently Shirako doesn't talk a lot either. Maybe it's a family thing.

* * *

**And done. remember to leave a review. If you liked this fic, be sure to check out some of my other ones as well!**


	2. The Metal Teku Forms

**Chapter two: The Metal Teku Forms**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Acceleracers,, just my OC's**

* * *

The modest house had a few Fourth of July decorations on it. A girl with long black hair is sitting on the porch railing, holding a letter in her hand. Her emerald green eyes are focused on the paper. A car that appears to have been in one crash too many is parked in the driveway nearby.

"So, a new team is being formed…" She muttered while folding up the letter. "I wonder if Talia got one. She's almost as good a racer as I am."

A car turned into the driveway and came to a stop by the one parked there. A Latina got out, letter in hand, and walked over to the porch.

"I am a much better racer than you are, Verity, and you know it!" the girl said. Verity hopped down off the railing.

"Better racer aside, Talia, did you get a letter too?" She wondered.

"Yep," Talia replied, while holding up a piece of paper. The girl opened up the sheet and began reading. "Dear Talia Pasero. Because of your extraordinary ability with racing, you have been selected as one of five girls to form a new racing team. Come to Boston on the tenth of July, and go to the Fire and Ice restaurant. Tell them you are here for the Tezla Reservation. I wish you the best of luck in your new team. Sincerely, Dr. Tezla."

"Sounds fishy. But at the same time, maybe we'll actually find some good competition." Verity said thoughtfully. "I'm in. What about you?"

"Do you really think I would let my best friend go off to a race by herself?" Talia said with a laugh. "Of course I'm going. A race is a race after all, and I can't wait to see what TechTyte can do. So of course I'm going. When do you want to leave?"

"I'll need a few days. Back Alley needs some work." Verity admitted. "I busted my gear box a few days ago, and it's giving me some trouble. I'll need to replace it. But I'll let you know when I'm ready to leave."

"Gotcha." Talia replied. Both girls were getting excited. Nothing ever happened in their sleepy old town. Finally something was going to be interesting for a change.

* * *

The high rise apartment building was close to Times Square. A postman was running a package up to a room on the eighth floor. He left it outside room 8G, before knocking on the door and walking away. The door opened up and a Japanese girl walked out. she picked up the package and walked back into the apartment, closing the door behind her.

Inside the apartment, she turned up her music, LOUD. None of the neighbors complained, though. The gild had sound proofed the walls. The manager hadn't complained. In fact, he had insisted that she soundproof the place when she showed up to procure the rental.

"Gale, you sure have fun." The girl recalled, chuckling at the memory. "Anyway, I better see what this thing is." Sitting back on the couch, Gale opened the letter and began to read. When she finished, she let out a low whistle.

"Yo, guess I better start packing." She said before rising to her feet and walking into her bedroom.

* * *

"Terra! Letter for you!" Terra sighed and got up from her bed. The room was small (Actually it was a converted closet), but she was grateful the junkyard owner – a man who insisted that everyone call him Uncle Tom – let her stay here.

"Be right there, Uncle Tom." She yelled back. The Asian American walked out of the door, blinking her warm brown eyes and tying her long black hair back in a ponytail as she did so. Then, shutting the door behind her, she started off down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Uncle Tom was waiting for her.

He was a chubby man with a greying beard and mustache, with long hair and watery blue eyes. His clothing had grease stains and dirt smudges all over the place, interspersed with rips and tears. Nonetheless he was a kind person, and had taken in the young girl off the streets after noticing her poking around in the junkyard one day. In return for room and board, as well as being able to use things that were being scrapped, Terra worked in the junkyard for him, as he was getting old and couldn't do as much of the manual labor required anymore.

"Here you go." Uncle Tom said as he handed the young girl an envelope. "And just so you know, we just received two more cars destined for the melting pit. If you want to pull out any parts or pieces you need for that car you're building, go on ahead and take them before you melt them."

"Thanks, I'll do that." Terra replied before walking out the back door. Sure enough, two cars were out behind the melting shack. Terra walked over to them while scanning the letter's contents.

"So, a racing team, huh?" the girl muttered. "Guess I better finish my car up, fast." And with that, Terra began examining the cars, looking for useful parts.

* * *

"A race?"

"Yeah, Ma. This Tezla Dude's, like, asking us to form a racing team." The blonde girl said happily.

"I don't know, Aurora…" her mother said hesitantly as she continued wash dishes.

"Please, Ma? I'm sixteen, and maybe this way I'll get to see Green-Boy again. Last I heard, he was in some racing team."

"Well…" her mother said hesitantly. But her daughter interrupted her.

"And I've been dying to test out Road Rage. It sounds like everything's paid for already." Here the young girl stopped and looked at her mother with pleading eyes. "Please, Ma? I promise I'll be good, and write every weekend."

"Fine." Her mother relented. Aurora's eyes lit up and she pulled her chair out from the table she was sitting at.

"Thanks Ma! I gotta go pack!" and with that the bubbly blonde raced upstairs.

* * *

The five girls were sitting in a booth at the Fire and Ice restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts. So far, small talk had been made, and the girls were learning more about each other. Of particular interest was the fact that all of them had older brothers or cousins that were racers, and that they all felt like they were stuck in their shadows; that they couldn't ever become noticed.

"So, if we're gonna form a team, we oughta choose whose gonna lead it!" Aurora said.

"Well, I think we who's going to be in charge." Gale said, all the while bobbing her head to the beat of her music.

"Yeah, I think we're all in agreement here." Terra said. The three girls turned to look expectantly at Talia and Verity.

"What?" they said simultaneously.

"You two should lead us." Terra said.

"Why?" Verity wondered. "How come you don't want to lead?"

"Yo, I would rather be a mechanic than lead." Gale said, bass pulsing in the background.

"If I lead, we would spend more time pranking people than actually racing." Aurora admitted with a sheepish grin on her face.

"I have no interest in being in the foreground." Terra muttered. "And you two already work together well, like leaders should."

"Okay, so I guess we're leaders, then?" Talia asked. Verity shrugged. The African American was just as confused as the Latina was. But if they wanted them to be the leaders, then they would lead.

An awkward silence stretched out before Talia broke it. "Well, what are we going to name the team?" All the girls thought for a few minutes before Gale broke it.

"Yo, I got an idea." She said. "Why not call ourselves the Metal Teku?"

* * *

And so the Metal Teku were formed. Despite their young age and inexperience, the girls spread their name and reputation all over the east coast. And the more races they won, the more feared they were. Veteran racers cautiously watched out for the familiar name, while young teams just starting out looked up to the 16 year olds.

Eventually, the team name was spread to the west, where more than a few racing teams learned about them. Among them were the Teku and the Metal Maniacs, although none of the girls' relatives knew who the shadowy, elusive gang was composed of.

And so several months passed. The Teku and the Metal Maniacs were busy racing their lives away on the west coast. And in the east, the Metal Teku were busy tearing up the streets from Tallahassee to New York City. The three gangs never crossed paths, until one fateful day.

And like all things the gangs did, it started with a race. Or rather, two races.

* * *

**Finished with chapter 2. As always, please leave a review. Your feedback is appreciated, BUT NO FLAMES!**


	3. Showdown in the East and West

**I'm back. I had some writers block with this fic, but then I hit a breakthrough and wrote, like, six new chapters. **

**Just a little house keeping before I start the fic.**

**Hannah, I'm glad that you're enjoying the fic thus far. I find it interesting that you were writing a story that included a character named Talia that was Nolo's and Lani's daughter. I read a fic that was entitiled Time Machine by Sabrielle-X that had a character like that in it. It's a good fic, and I think you should read it. I know that it has inspired me to write a fic that involves the racers kids traveling back in time to meet their parents. (It takes place after Wylde Race). And while I'm glad you like my writing style, I don't think I'll ever be better than Mark Twain.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Acceleracers!**

* * *

The date was December tenth.

The time was 12:00.

The place was Headstone Alley, named for all the drivers that had crashed there and died.

Now six more racers were going to try their luck.

On one side were three girls: Talia Pasero, Verity Maddox, and Terra Kitano. On the other side were three boys: Matthew, Patrick, and Andrew; better known as Matt, Pat, and Andy. The six were in their cars, waiting for the signal, the midnight bell from the nearby church.

DING-DONG DING-DONG! DING-DONG DING-DONG!

As soon as the bells faded, the six cars were off like rockets. Dodging rocks, tires squealing around sharp corners, each one trying to get the win for themselves. Dark clouds began gathering in the night sky, and then rain came pouring down as lightning ripped the skies to shreds. People who were up could hear of the rumbles of thunder, the purrs of six engines, and wondered who would be out on such a night.

Back with the race, the canyon was beginning to show why it was known as Headstone Alley. Rocks hidden in the gloom seemed to pop up at any moment, fog began to permeate the area lending a spooky graveyard-esque feeling to the area. Muddy patches, rock falls, brush, it all made for one heck of a course.

Few drivers were brave enough to challenge the natural raceway. They had grown up hearing tales of drivers caught in rock falls and mudslides, crashes with fiery ends, broken axels and shattered windows, bloody cuts and fragmented bones. More drivers died here than anywhere else in the state, except on the thruway.

The few who did dare to challenge the place were met with mixed feelings. Fellow racers applauded them for their courage and bravery; old folks scoffed at their foolhardiness. And of the select group that could say they had raced in the Alley and live, the Metal Teku were among the best. All of them had raced here several times, and it showed in this race. Their opponents were left in the dust.

"Heh, amateurs." Terra smirked as the headlights receded in the distance.

"Look out!" Talia yelled. The three girls hit the brakes and came to a crashing halt. A river of mud was flowing down the canyon walls in their path, preventing access.

"Bummer!" Verity muttered as they observed the mudflow. "Guess we're not finishing this race."

"Yeah," Terra murmured. The three drivers began to turn and walk back to their cars.

"Hello."

"AH!" Verity and Talia both shrieked, while Terra raised an eyebrow. Floating in front of them was a robot.

"Who are you?" Terra wondered as the other girls tried to calm themselves down. Soon they had recovered from the shock of the robot's sudden appearance, and listened closely.

"I am Gig." The robot stated. "I am here on behalf of Dr. Tezla. He needs you to come and race for him, immediately."

"Why should we race for this Tezla dude?" Verity wondered.

"That name sounds familiar." Terra said in a low voice.

"Yeah, wasn't he the dude who sent us those letters a few months ago?" Talia recalled. "Ya know, the ones that led to the formation of the group?" a few quick asserting nods from her companions signified that they, too had remembered the name.

"Think we should go?" Verity asked. Despite the fact that she was a co-leader of the team, she usually trusted Talia's judgment when it came to blind races.

"How about the three of us go. If it checks out, we can call Aurora and Gale to come and join us. And if it doesn't, we leave and don't look back."

"Sounds good. Let's go." Terra muttered.

"I've uploaded the GPS coordinates to your onboard computers." Gig stated flatly. "Follow them if you wish to race." And with that, the little robot glowed white and vanished. The three girls looked at each other for a few minutes, then shrugged and got into their cars and sped off down the canyon.

Unbeknownst to the three girls, though, was the simultaneous situation going on in the west.

* * *

The date was December 10th.

The time was 8:00.

The place was the Coast Road, named so because it wound along a cliff near the sea.

And now the normally tranquil spot was going to be disrupted.

On one side of the parking lot, you had the Teku. Consisting of Nolo Pasero, Shirako Takamoto, Vert Wheeler, Kurt Wylde, and Karma Eiss; the group was hanging around, waiting for their rivals to show up. So far, only one Metal Maniac – their mechanic Monkey – had shown, although he swore up and down that the others, except for Pork Chop, were on their way. Currently, Nolo and Vert were having another argument.

"I know the coast road better than anybody, Nolo." Vert was saying. Nolo, however, merely laughed at the surfer. This didn't do anything to help Vert's mood. "Dude, I used to come out here surfing before I could drive."

"Whatever, man." Nolo replied. "I was driving, before I could drive."

Vert frowned. "What does that even mean?" he demanded.

"Remember who's the Teku leader!" Nolo snapped irritated. A few of the people gathered nearby looked over in their direction before going back to their own conversations. Nolo turned back to Vert, and lowered his voice a little, although he didn't lose any of the irritation and anger. "This is my race, Vert." he hissed. "Stay outta it." And with that, the Latino stalked off towards his car, Synkro. Vert watched him go, a scowl adorning his face.

"He's only the leader because of his brother." The surfer grumbled before storming off in the opposite direction. Kurt watched him go.

"Hey, it's Nolo's call who races." He called. Unlike Vert, Kurt had no problems taking orders from the young Latino.

"Hey!" Kurt and Vert turned around to see Taro Kitano had driven up. Judging from the look on the Asian Maniac's face, he had witnessed the whole argument. "Are you Teku here to race? Or to fight?" he asked.

Nolo rolled his eyes at Taro's typical bluntness. However, before he could respond, another car pulled up, and its driver got out. He was a tall burly African American, and leader of the Metal Maniacs. It was Tork Maddox.

Nolo immediately pinned the man with a glare, while Tork was likewise responding in kind. The two remained that way for a few minutes before they abruptly broke off eye contact. Both drivers returned to their cars and edged them onto the road.

Monkey was carrying a portable starting light to the center of the road when a car came tearing past him. It stopped in between Synkro and Hollowback.

"Why didn't you tell me we were taking on the Teku?" Wylde demanded. Tork rolled his eyes and shook his head. He had been hoping that his hot headed teammate wouldn't show tonight. Looks like he had to pull out the leader in him.

"Me against Nolo." he said decisively. "That's how we're having it." And with that, he pulled up past Spine Buster before Wylde could argue back. Nolo followed his lead, glad for an excuse to get away from the Maniac of all Maniacs.

"I want him, Tork, I want them all! You knew that from the start!" Wylde yelled angrily. Meanwhile, the two drivers were edging their cars up a little, trying to gain even a fraction of an inch before the real race started. Both of the drivers glared at each other once more, before focusing completely on the road. Well, at least Tork was focusing on the road. Nolo was thinking about another race a few years ago.

He had been sitting in the passenger seat of Synkro, a few months after his sixteenth birthday. He had just started to drive in street races. But he wasn't the leader. His older brother Tone was.

FLASHBACK

"You're trying to take my place?" Tone asked.

"I know I can beat Tork." Nolo said confidently. Tone however, merely laughed. Here was his little brother, who had just turned 16 a little while ago, and who had just started street racing; and yet he fully believed that he was more than capable of taking down one of the best racers in the city who had more experience than Nolo had.

"Yes, and I'm sure Talia is just as capable of beating Tork. Maybe I should call her up and have her race." Tone replied teasingly.

"Talia doesn't race." Nolo argued. "And besides, I don't think Tork races girls. He's never raced Karma before."

Again, Tone laughed. It was refreshing how naïve his little brother could be when it came to street racing.

"C'mon, Tone." Nolo pleaded. "Lemme race him."

"You wanna be the leader now, lil bro?" Tone asked while playfully punching Nolo on the shoulder.

END FLASHBACK

Yeah, he had wanted to race so badly. But Tone said no. and then he died in a crash. Now it was his turn to race Tork. In the middle of the road, Monkey had finished setting up his device and was trying to turn it on. But it refused to light up. Angrily, he kicked it, and then a red column of light filled the sky.

"This is Monkey," he said into a cell phone. "Is the road clear yet?" Behind him, Tork and Nolo revved their engines; impatient to get on with the race. "These guys aren't going to wait much longer." Both racers were tempted to just split right then and there. But then they heard the magic words.

"All clear!"

With that, the racers shifted gears and sped forward, Tork pulling ahead of Nolo. The pair sped by Monkey, missing him only by a few inches. Then they were gone, rapidly receding into the night.

"Here they come!" Monkey yelled. Behind him, Wylde was fed up. He wanted action, and he wanted it now!

"I'm going to show you what Wylde is all about." He snapped. Then he shot off after the others.

"Wylde!" Taro yelled. But the Maniac was gone, speeding after the racers.

* * *

In the east, three cars were speeding down the highway on the middle of the night. No one was in sight, which meant that the drivers may or may not have been following the speed limit. Talia was in the lead, with Verity and Terra close behind.

"So, whaddya think about this race?" Talia wondered.

"It sounds fishy." Verity muttered. "I smell a rat."

"Whatever this is, we should be cautious." Terra reminded them. "If we get ambushed, it could have disastrous consequences."

"Yeah, true." Talia conceded. "Stay sharp, girls."

The drivers continued on the road in silence. Talia turned on some techno music, which was playing softly over the speakers in her car. None of the other girls complained. They were glad to have something to listen to, and the ever changing music would help keep them awake.

Several hours later, the cars passed into California, and turned south. Pulling off the road the girls accelerated into the desert, dodging rock formations and sand dunes. Dust was whipped up in the car's wake, so it looked like the girls were being chased by a sandstorm.

Eventually they pulled into an old, decrepit cube shaped building. Holes in the metal and fabric walls let sand and wind into the building, creating an eerie whistling sound. Some plants were growing in the shady building, and rust frosted over the rafters. It had been abandoned for a long time.

"Now what?" Terra wondered.

"Hello? Is someone there?" An unfamiliar voice cut through the air. all three girls stiffened, and Terra reached for a large pocket knife.

"Whose there?" Verity asked aloud. From the shadows, an African emerged. He was dressed in a plain brown and yellow racing suit, and his dreadlocked hair was held back in a ponytail.

"My name is Kadeem." He said. "I take it you three are members if the Metal Teku, yes?"

"You got that right! I'm Talia Pasero." Talia said.

"My name's Verity Maddox." Verity added. "Talia and I are co-leaders of the team."

"I am Terra Kitano." Terra stated in her low voice.

"Any relation to Taro Kitano?" Kadeem asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Terra muttered with a scowl. Kadeem wisely decided not to press the matter further; as it was obvious it was a touchy subject with the girl.

"So, whaddya doing hanging round here?" Talia wondered aloud. It was a good question. What was this strange man doing here in the middle of a desert?

"I'm supposed to guide you to the race." Kadeem replied. "But we have to wait for the others first."

"Others?" Terra wondered, allowing a question to creep into her voice. Talia and Verity looked at each other. What others?

* * *

Tork and Nolo sped around the sharp turns of the road in the near darkness, headlights illuminating only a fraction of the asphalt. They usually would have been neck n' neck, and they were. But Nolo took a couple of turns to wide, and began to fall behind, causing him to groan in frustration. Tork smirked. Looks like he would be winning this race.

Nolo didn't appreciate him being in second. He wasn't going to settle for second best.

Play time was officially over.

The Latino reached out and turned on his music, and breathed a quick sigh of relief as the music did as he was hoping it would: Drown out the bad memories he had of Tone's crash, and allow him to focus on the race. He sped up and rammed Tork's car before pulling up alongside of him.

"Back off, punk!" The African American snarled.

"This is for you, bro." Nolo whispered before ramming Tork's car again. A terrible screeching sound filled the air as the metal of Hollowback scraped against the metal guardrail.

"So, that's the way you want to play, huh?" Tork muttered. He had hoped to just race, but now the kid gloves were off. Reaching down, he activated the flamethrower built into the side of his car. Reddish orange flames flew out and darted at the side of Synkro, forcing Nolo to pull away or risk getting burned.

However, unbeknownst to either of them, the pair was about to get some unwelcome company.

Wylde had managed to catch up to the racers, who were so busy with their race/fight that they hadn't noticed him. Now that Nolo had pulled away, there was a small space in between the two cars; just large enough for him to squeeze by. And squeeze by he did, causing sparks to fly as he forced his way past. Nolo cried out in shock, while Tork rolled his eyes. Wylde, for his part, laughed manically. At least he was in a better mood.

Finally, Spine Buster cleared the two cars. Because they had been pressed against the car in the middle, both Nolo and Tork suddenly found themselves drifting sharply towards the middle of the road. Before either driver could react, they crashed into each other and spun out. Tork ended up hitting the guardrail, resulting in the driver's side tires resting over the rail; leaving it tilted at an angle. Nolo crashed into a pile of dirt, causing his car to pull a back flip and land on a sharp incline. Any more vertical and he would have been literally standing on the car's front end. The Latino groaned and rubbed his head, before beginning to check himself over for injuries.

"Ha hah! Gooooooo Wylde!" Wylde laughed. He continued speeding on down the road. Tork would probably chew him out for this later, but he really didn't care right about now. The younger Wylde brother rounded the corner…

Only to see a robot, which he recognized as Gig, floating in the middle of the road.

* * *

**And I am done! Don't forget to leave a review!**


	4. Tezla Needs Us?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Acceleracers**

* * *

Chapter 4: Tezla Needs Us?

Wylde could see Gig in the middle of the road. The man swerved to one side, causing him to first hit the cliff wall, which caused him to spin out into the guardrail.

His car was going much faster than Tork's was when it hit the rail. This time, it didn't hold up.

A jagged piece of metal ripped from the fence, and Wylde's car began falling towards the beach below. In a slight panic, he hit the release button with his fist. A grappling line shot out and the hook entrenched itself into the cliff wall. There he hung, 40 feet above the sand.

"Maybe I should've just hit the brakes." He muttered.

Up above, five cars rounded the bend and came to a stop. In the lead was Sling Shot, and Kurt got out of his vehicle with a worried look on his face. Despite the fact that his little brother hated his guts, Kurt still cared for and worried about him.

Monkey got out of Rollin' Thunder and ran over to the accident sight, grabbing onto a slightly bent sign post to prevent him from falling off. Down below, he could see Wylde in his car, trying to get back to the top.

"Wylde's okay!" he said happily. "He's cranking back up." Kurt let out a breath he was holding in. Then he, and Vert, walked over to Gig.

"What're you doing here?" Vert wondered.

"Dr. Tezla needs you." Explained the robot.

"Oh really." Kurt scoffed. "What about after the World Race when we needed him to give us more nitrox? He wouldn't even talk to us!" it was obvious that there was some bad blood between this Tezla guy and Kurt.

"Dr. Tezla needed all of the fuel for his racers!" Gig replied flatly.

"But we wanted to go through the portals again!" Vert argued. "And race on Highway 35!"

"No one can go through the portals now." Gig finally said. "Gelorum and her Racing Drones have taken the Wheel of Power."

Kurt and Vert looked at each other, then walked towards their cars. Karma shrugged, before following them. As long as there was a race, she was cool with it.

"Hey, Taro." Monkey asked. "This Wheel of Power business – what does it all mean?"

"Trouble." Taro replied shortly. And with that, he too headed towards his Road Runner, expecting that to be the end of Monkey's question. But the jumpy ginger was not to be deterred, and walked after his teammate.

"Hey Taro." He asked, not noticing the annoyance that flashed across Taro's face. "This Tezla dude…Wylde told me he gave like millions of dollars to some of his drivers."

Taro groaned under his breath. Leave it to his hotheaded teammate to blab about the World Race. "You're coming?" He asked, allowing a note of surprise to creep into his voice.

"You think Tork would mind?" he wondered. Taro shrugged before getting into his car and starting up. Monkey took one look back at the crash site – where his leader was currently hitting the hood of his car in frustration – and gulped nervously before looking at the retreating form of Taro's car.

"Hey! Wait up, Taro!" he yelled before hurrying to Rollin' Thunder.

The Teku were heading to their cars when they almost crashed into Nolo. And he was not happy with what had happened.

"Give me a car!" he snapped angrily. "I want to finish this thing tonight!"

"There's something we have to do, Nolo." Vert said apologetically before continuing on towards his car, eager to get away from the Latino. Karma also bypassed her leader, making a beeline for Chicane.

"What's he talking about?" Nolo demanded. "Nothing's more important than the Teku!"

"This is." Replied Kurt tersely before walking towards Sling Shot. After seeing his brother almost die, hearing about the return of Gelorum, learning about the Wheel of Power's theft, and other circumstances, he was less than happy.

The three Teku roared down the road, barely missing their leader who was standing in the center. Nolo watched them go before growling in frustration. Then he limped back down the road towards the crash, where he could see Shirako had pulled up in Bassline.

* * *

**Yeah, short, I know. But the next one is kind of long, so it balances out. Oh well, remember to leave your review! Feedback is appreciated, flames are not!**


	5. The Acceledrome

**Disclaimer: I don't own Acceleracers!**

* * *

"When do you think the others will get here?" Talia wondered. The Latina girl was bored as heck. She, along with the other girls, had been waiting here for a really long time – what seemed like forever, although Verity said that it was only 6 in the morning.

It was understandable. They had all been up for how many hours? Their internal clocks were out of whack from crossing four different time zones. They were all exhausted, as their bodies registered that they had been up for almost two whole days.

"Soon, I hope." Terra responded. The Asian was extremely anxious to get a move on, having lived a nomadic life style for several years before settling down with Uncle Tom. So she was understandably a little uneasy about hanging around unfamiliar territory for a long while. She remembered the last time she trusted someone else.

That time caused her to end up in a juvie version of death row. She had gotten six years, for a crime she hadn't committed.

It had been awful.

The others knew why Terra was so antsy, although a person who wasn't used to her might not notice her emotions or feelings. They knew why she wanted to get a move on. Unless she felt safe, she wouldn't stick around for a while.

"Chillax, Terra." Talia said as she briefly slid out from under her car. "We probably won't have to wait too much longer." And with that, she slid back under the car, returning to messing around with the under chassis lighting.

"Talia's right, Terra." Verity added from where she was working under the hood of her car. "I'm sure the other racers will be here shortly."

Terra sighed, then opened the door to her car and began working on the dash board. Kadeem watched the interaction between the three women with interest before deciding that checking out his car wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, and started examining spoiler.

* * *

"So what's this whole Highway 35 thing, anyway?" Karma wondered.

"The real Highway 35 was a track that existed in a different dimension that was created by these weird ancient dudes called Accelerons." Vert explained

"That's what you call real?" Karma asked skeptically.

"Tezla recruited the best drivers for the World Race." Kurt added.

"Yeah, it was me and Kurt, Taro, and-" Vert started to elaborate, but Karma interrupted him, wanting to know who won. Kurt butted in that it didn't matter who won, just that Tezla wanted the Wheel of Power at the end of the track.

"Hey Taro!" Monkey called. "Wylde's here!" Taro rolled his eyes, knowing full well that since Kurt and Wylde would both be hear, he had an awful lot of fights to look forward to. Meanwhile, Wylde had caught up to the others and sped past Monkey, kicking up clouds of dust in his wake. Monkey coughed a few times to clear his throat. "Hey!" he yelled. "This isn't a race!"

"It's always a race." Wylde replied before sideswiping Karma. She grit her teeth and tried to regain control of her car while Wylde rear-ended his brother, before speeding past him and Vert, taking the lead.

"Maniac." Kurt muttered sourly, angrily thinking of the long hours ahead of him while he tried to hammer out the dents Spine Buster had put in his bumper. However, Markie didn't hear him, and led the way to the distant cube without a second glance back.

* * *

The drivers pulled into the decrepit building, and was met with a very shocking sight.

"Is that…Synkro?" Vert asked as he got out.

"What's Tork doing here?" Monkey wondered. Sure enough, in the cube were cars. One looked like Synkro, while the other looked like Hollowback. However, the paint jobs were drastically different, especially on Synkro. And they weren't alone. The hood on Hollowback was up, while faint clanging noises could be heard coming from under Synkro. Then a hand was stuck out from underneath the car.

"Yo, Maddox!" a voice said that sounded a lot like Nolo. "Toss me a wrench!"

"Monkey or Crescent?" said the person under Hollowback's hood, which sounded suspiciously like Tork.

"Hybrid." 'Nolo' replied.

"Kay, here you go." 'Tork' replied, throwing a wrench to the waiting hand.

"Thanks" 'Nolo' said as he caught it. The tool and the hand then disappeared back underneath the car.

The drivers all looked at each other in shock. Not even 8 hours ago they had seen Tork and Nolo, and the pair couldn't stand each other one bit. Now they were not only treating each other civilly, but were actually working on their cars together like old friends.

"What's up with them?" Kurt asked nobody in particular. The other drivers shrugged, before a loud bang issued from underneath Synkro, and clouds of smoke began billowing out from the car. A Hispanic girl rolled out from below the chassis, coughing up smoke. Behind her, the car trembled to life, and the lights underneath it turned on. Ignoring the incredulous looks on the other driver's faces, she shook her head and looked behind her at her vehicle.

"Well," She said. "I have no idea what I just did, but I think I fixed it." Hollowback's hood was slammed shut, revealing an African American girl to be the one working on the engine.

"You're so ditzy some times, Talia." She said.

"Hey!" Talia replied indignantly. "You fix your car your way Verity, and I'll fix mine my way." Verity shrugged.

"Whatever." She replied.

"Vert!" the two girls looked up as an African man brushed by them. Vert grinned and walked over to him, giving him a fist bump. "It's been a long time."

"Good to see you again." Vert replied.

"Hey Terra!" Talia called over to a fourth car parked in the shadows. "The wait's over. Their here."

"It's about time." Terra replied as she walked over. Her eyes scanned the drivers present, before settling on Taro, who calmly gazed back at her. She flinched a little before scowling and directing her gaze somewhere else. Kurt noted with interest the similar features the two shared, and made a note to ask Taro about it later.

"Is that Tezla?" Monkey asked, gesturing to the African.

"My name is Kadeem. Who are you?" Kadeem replied.

"He's just a freaky little Metal Maniac, Kadeem." Kurt replied dismissively. Taro and Monkey both tensed up, ready for a fight.

"That means he's the best, like me and Taro, huh?" Markie said smugly.

"Real drivers are Teku!" Kurt shot back. Both the Teku and the Metal Maniacs then glared at each other, while Vert watched nervously and the three girls observed the scene curiously. Finally, Talia laughed.

"Yeah right. I believe that when I see." She replied.

"Yeah, that's a pretty lofty claim." Verity added. "From both of you."

"That's true." Terra murmured. "Being considered the best is only a matter of opinion." The Teku and the Metal Maniacs scowled at the girl's chastising remarks.

"Yes, I see how it is." Kadeem said with a laugh. He was used to the different rivalries that races attracted.

"So…" Vert said, scrambling to find a way to diffuse the growing tension. "You get everything straightened out back home?"

"No, my people will have to wait." Kadeem replied. "Because this cannot."

"Not that I'm in a rush or anything…" Talia said. "But are we going to stand around here shooting the breeze all day? Or are we gonna race?"

"Yeah, let's blow this joint." Verity agreed. "We've spent way too much time here already." This was punctuated by a yawn, which was quickly followed by one from Talia.

"How are you two even tired?" Terra wondered.

"Because we're not insomniac like you are." Talia replied before yawning again.

"What's up with you?" Vert wondered.

"We drove all the way out from the east coast." Verity explained. "Crossed four different time zones to get here. Our internal clocks are all out of whack. Our brains think we've been up for almost two and a half days."

"Terra's fine because she's used to staying up four or five days at a time, but Verity and I are totally exhausted." Talia added.

"Why didn't you try and sleep?" Karma wondered.

"You try sleeping when your brain thinks it's 11 o'clock in the morning." Talia muttered.

"Are we going to stand around here talking? Or are we going to get a move on?" Terra asked before getting into the car and starting the engine. She revved it a few times, obviously impatient to get a move on. Sighing, the others got into their vehicles as well, then followed Kadeem out of the compound.

* * *

"Tezla has built a new headquarters where no one can find him," Kadeem explained as he led the drivers through a natural rock maze. "Stay behind me, and match my speed."

Behind the African, Taro was leading the pack, followed closely by Terra. She couldn't believe her luck. Of all the races for her to get involved in, she had to pick the one her half-brother also was in. Great, just great. Of all her rotten luck, she just had to run into her elder sibling again. She still remembered the last time she ran into him, right after she had gotten out of jail. He had helped her, without even knowing who she was. That put her in a major dilemma. How could she be jealous of someone who was willing to help a homeless girl that they didn't even know?

Either way, she doubted that Taro remembered her. After all, why would he care?

She shook her head to clear it, and pressed down on the gas some more. Kadeem led them through another turn, before increasing his speed one last time.

Then he drove straight over a cliff.

* * *

"Whoa!" Monkey cried as he stepped on the brakes. "Dead end!" His car, Rolling Thunder, spun out and came to a stop resting against a rock pile. Taro didn't have any time to slow down, and instead followed the African racer over the cliff, Terra close behind.

Monkey gasped in fear…and then the drivers phased through the cliff wall. "That's impossible!" Monkey started to say. However, he was cut off by the Teku cars blowing past him. They too made the jump over empty space, before vanishing through the wall. Synkro and Hollowback made the jump too, and safely managed to land.

Inside the mesa, the drivers were startled to find it wasn't just rock, but also a high tech base. A metal catwalk formed a second level that curved around an orange track that led to nowhere. A large tower was standing off to the side of the track, and tunnels seemed to lead away from the main chasm. The center of the room was dominated by (drumroll please) absolutely nothing!

However, as the drivers congregated at the rail fence that seemed to surround something, a flare of yellow light filled the room and gradually coalesced into the form of a man's head.

"Welcome to the Acceledrome!" he proclaimed.

* * *

"Hello!" Monkey called. However, he received no response. Nervously he looked down at the gorge, before making up his mind. Then before he could talk himself out of it, he got in his car and backed up as far as he could go.

"Alright." He muttered. "Here goes." And then he shifted gears and sped forward. Rolling Thunder catapulted off the cliff, the driver flinching as he expected to be squashed like a bug any minute. Closer and closer the cliff wall loomed…and then he was through, coming in for a bumpy landing on the ground.

* * *

"Did I miss anything?" He asked as he climbed out of the car. The others looked at him briefly before redirecting their attention to the hologram, which was still speaking.

"Gelorum and her Racing Drones have taken the Wheel of Power." Tezla announced. "Before the Wheel was taken, I discovered it was more than just a source of power. Countless new worlds, which I call the Racing Realms, have started to open. It is my wish to explore these Realms, and to stop the drones at any cost. The journey of discovery begins here."

As the man said here, his image faded out, replaced by a giant ring that was slowly revolving in a circle. The drivers stood there for a minute in silence, trying to process what they had just heard. Kurt and Vert had excited looks on their faces, as did Wylde. Taro was impassive as always, and Karma looked slightly interested in what had just happened. Monkey looked nervous, and Kadeem already knew this, so he was just waiting for the others to get over their shock. Talia, Verity, and Terra all had skeptical looks on their faces.

"So, what do you think?" Verity wondered, breaking the silence. Talia snorted.

"In my humble yet honest opinion, this guy's a complete and total loon!" she said. "I mean, come on! Alternate dimensions, killer robots, aliens…isn't that stuff science fiction?"

"Apparently not." Terra replied impassively, her mind still distracted by Taro.

"Hey!" the girls were pulled out of their musings to see that the other drivers were ascending the stairs. "Are you going to stay there all day, or are you going to grace us with your presence in the conference room?" Vert yelled.

"Okay, okay, we're coming Green-Boy." Talia yelled back. "No need to blow your tires out!"

"Hey! It's Vert!" Vert said annoyed.

"Whoops, our mistake." Verity replied.

"Maybe we should have Aurora come," Terra murmured. "For the sole purpose of annoying her cousin."

"Yeah, that would be funny…" Talia agreed as the group began walking up the stairs. If only the other racers knew who they were…Heh, she couldn't wait when the truth came out.

Sooner or later, the Teku and the Metal Maniacs would be getting a lesson in sibling rivalry.

* * *

**Finished. The next chapter takes place in the Storm Realm, but it is more of a flashback than a race oriented chapter. Nothing against the Storm Realm, it's just that I've gotten tired of having to write about it twenty different times and make each one different. But I will make the Swamp Realm a little more exciting ot make up for it. Remember to leave a review!**


	6. Realms Explained

**Disclaimer: I don't own Acceleracers!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Realms

The drivers filed into the conference room and settled into seats: Kadeem at the head of the table, Teku on one side, Metal Maniacs on the other, and Metal Teku on the other end facing Kadeem.

"So, which one is the Wheel of Power?" Karma asked, referencing both the large wheel out in the main chamber, and the smaller yet identical one that hovered over the table.

"They are both holograms." Kadeem replied.

"Exact three dimensional recreations." A girl added as she walked into the room, followed by Gig. A very familiar girl to more than one of the drivers.

"Lani!" Vert said, excited to see his old teammate. "It's good to see another Wave Ripper."

"I'm not driving, Vert." She replied. "I've been working with Tezla in the Acceledrome. He didn't tell me who was coming." This last remark was punctuated by an angry glare at Taro, who merely gazed back at her calmly.

"While studying the Wheel, Dr. Tezla recorded the unique patterns of its wavelengths and vibrations-"

"Yeah, yeah, scrap the lecture Gig, we're here to race." Markie interrupted the robot.

"The holograms react with the same emanations as the actual Wheel of Power." Gig continued on, undeterred by the interruption.

"Is he speaking English?" Monkey asked nobody in particular. "He's speaking English, right?"

"In a very real sense, the image is the Wheel." The robot summed up.

"Really dumb question, but couldn't you just say that outright why?" Talia queried.

"And that means…?" Karma asked over Talia's muttered explanation.

"Dr. Tezla believes that the Wheel of Power has been opening the Racing Realms." Lani explained. Taro rolled his eyes, bored with the entire proceedings. He stood up, and walked over to the window. Terra also rose, and began pacing back and forth in the back of the room, obviously distracted by some thought train in her head.

"And Gelorum and her Racing Drones are entering them." Gig summarized.

"Why?" Talia wondered. "Why are they entering the Realms? What's in it for them?"

"She has a point." Verity added. "Why enter these Realms for nothing? What's the point of racing in the Realms?"

"Why do you think that there's some sort of incentive, some sort of prize?" Vert queried.

"There's always a prize in a race." Terra muttered, pausing a minute in her endless pacing. "Be it glory, money, or some other thing with martial value."

"Dr. Tezla believes that the Wheel of Power has already opened several Racing Realms, and that each time that the drones enter them, they grow more powerful."

"Whatever is at the end of the Realms must be even more powerful than even the Wheel of Power." Kadeem postulated.

"Well, if this thing's so powerful, than it must be worth a lot of money!" Monkey said.

Talia shook her head, while Verity groaned and rolled her eyes. Kadeem merely laughed.

"Why is he laughing?" Monkey wondered aloud.

"Money isn't everything in life." Terra scolded him. Monkey gulped nervously, trapped under the scrutiny of her warm brown eyes.

"We must reach the end of the next Realm before the Racing Drones." Kadeem declared.

"Why should we?" Kurt challenged. "Last time it was to get the Wheel for Tezla. What does the doctor want now?" the distaste was obvious in his voice, making it clear that there was some bad blood between them.

"How should we know?" Vert pointed out. "Tezla's motives could be anything."

"Now more than ever, we need the best drivers to-" Gig started to say.

"The hologram's moving." Taro muttered. Almost as soon as the words left the older Asian's mouth, the klaxons started to blare.

"A new Realm is opening!" Lani said, walking over to stand next to Taro at the window.

"Alright, what're we waiting for? C'mon, let's go!" Markie said, hot to trot to get into the race.

"We need nitrox." Vert pointed out.

"Worry about that later." Talia said, standing along with Verity. The two made tracks for the door.

"Hold it right there you two." Lani said, causing the pair to come to a stop. "You two aren't going anywhere until you get some rest." The pair of girls started to argue, but Lani silenced them with a look. "No buts. I saw how much you two were yawning during the discussions. You two are both too exhausted to race right now, and I forbid you from racing until you get at least twelve hours of sleep."

"…fine…" Talia and Verity muttered unhappily, Talia then threw a sidelong look at Terra. "You okay racing in the Realm solo?" She asked.

"I'll be fine." Terra replied before walking out the door, obviously heading for her car.

"But she shouldn't race either!" Lani protested. "She's probably just as exhausted as you two."

"Nah, she'll be fine." Verity said with a shrug. "She's insomniac, can go weeks without sleeping. She won't be troubled by the time zone changes."

With that, the pair walked out of the room, obviously looking for some place to take a nap. The other drivers watched them go for a few seconds, before the changing of the alarm's pitch reminded them of what was happening and the increased urgency of the whole situation. They too streamed out the door and down into the Acceledrome.

* * *

Down below, the drivers split off into groups. Kadeem began helping Vert and Kurt fill the nitrox tanks on the bottom of their cars, while Lani was busy helping Karma. Markie was installing tanks on the bottom of Spin Buster, as the Maniac had lost his available booster tanks when his Stingray Corvette was impounded by the police.

"What's this juice do?" Monkey asked Taro, who was helping the mechanic attach a set of tanks to the bottom of Rolling Thunder.

"You'll see." The older Maniac replied, smirking at the thought of Monkey trying to use nitrox for the first time.

Terra was busy trying to figure out a way to temporarily attach the booster tanks to her car, when she noticed that she had only grabbed one nitrox tank. The girl rolled her eyes, knowing that it would take her at least five minutes to walk down to the lower levels and grab a new tank, and then another five to attach it and get into the Realm. By that point in time, she would be far behind the others, and probably wouldn't be able to catch up.

"Here."

Terra turned around to see Taro holding a tank of Nitrox in his hands. She hesitated a second, but her desire to race won over her reluctance to accept help from her half-brother. Terra reached out and grabbed the tank.

"Thanks." She muttered curtly before sliding under her car and began attaching tanks to the bottom of the chassis. Taro frowned for a moment before heading back towards his car. Terra finished attaching the tanks and rolled out from under the car. The teen then climbed into her car, Welded, and started the engine up.

It was time to race.

* * *

**Okay, before you get on my back about there not being any realms in this chapter, originally there were. But this chapter and the next combined were really long, so I split them at a logical point. **

**Anyway, leave a review!**


	7. Sibling Rivalry (part 1)

**I'm back. This is the second part of the Storm Realm, and it explains a lot about Terra and her past. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Chapter 7: Sibling Rivalry

The world was blue for a moment. Then the light at the end of the tunnel had appeared, literally, and the drivers were in the Realm. It was filled with lightning and storm clouds. Way past cool.

Terra wasn't really paying attention to the track, however, although you wouldn't know it from her driving. Instead, her mind was on her past.

She was born in a back alley, with one of the female gang members acting as the midwife. Why was she born in an alley instead of in a hospital? It had to do with her relationship with Taro.

Before she was born, Taro's father had been in an affair with her mother. When the scandal broke loose, Taro's dad broke off all connection to her mother. However, what he didn't know was that she was pregnant with his child.

Nine months later, she had been born. She grew up on the streets, daughter of a poor, working class mother. Meanwhile, Taro grew up with rich parents. He went to school. Terra didn't. Even now, she could barely read, write, or do math. What she could do, she had taught herself.

When Terra turned six, my mother died, and she was homeless. She had had some money, and the girl naïvely believed that she could go buy some food. So she had headed towards the grocery store when it happened.

A boy had run around the corner, and pressed a knife into her hands.

"Hold this!" he said before disappearing into the crowd. Terra just stared after him, confused, right up until the cops cuffed the girl and stuck her in a squad car.

Terra was tried and found guilty of two murders of some famous politicians, and sentenced to death when she turned eighteen…six years old an already labeled a murderer.

Her life was in shambles. Transported to a juvie version of death row, forced to wear a red jumpsuit that labeled her as a murderer, hearing the taunts of the guards and the cries of the kids at night, seeing kids turn eighteen, and then marched down the hallway to the death center. They still use old methods of execution. When Terra was an inmate, twenty others were executed by gas chamber, three by firing squad, eight by electrocution, and 40 by lethal injection. Knowing that they met their fates, and in a few years you would too was plain torture for the inmates.

Terra had spent six years in there, never talking, never writing, never reading. All joy was gone from her, and she became dark and bitter. It was just a few days after she turned twelve when it had happened.

Flashback

I raised my head as the door to my cell was opened. Two guards walk into the cell, with the main prison warden. I don't really care what they want. In my humble opinion, they can all go crawl in some hole and die.

"CR-S02" he says, addressing me by my serial number. Oh, how I hate my serial number. It is a sign of my imprisonment. The CR stands for cryonics, the type of cell I am forced to live in. it's' freezing cold, designed to keep me alive and in stasis until I turn 18. My muscles are so stiff I can barely move them, hence why I'm in a perpetual stasis. The S stands for suicidal. They think I'm going to kill myself. Why would I do that? They're going to do it for me. The 02 means that I've been the second occupant of this cell. I wonder who the first was.

It doesn't matter who was in the cell before me. All that matters is that I'm stuck here now and for another six years. So I don't really pay attention, until I look up and see the warden and the guards looking at me curiously.

"What?" I say, indignation creeping into my voice.

"I would have thought you would've been happy." The warden replied, confused.

"About what?" I snap irratibly. I just want these men gone. They robbed me of my freedom, as much as the people who found me guilty. Maintaining my innocence did me nothing.

"They did some DNA testing on your case after a certain someone came forward and confessed to the murders." The warden said patiently. "You're free to go."

I stare at him in shock, barely registering the handcuffs being unlocked and the sound of them hitting the floor. I can't believe it. The one thing I dreamed about every night has come true.

I'm free.

End flashback.

Terra sighed, recalling that day. It was the best one of her life up until that point. Walking out of there as a free girl was incredible. The twenty dollar bill the warden slipped her didn't hurt, either.

The younger Kitano was pulled out of her thoughts when she noticed the car in the middle of the road. It belonged to Taro. From the looks of the vehicle and the driver, added with the smell of burnt metal, it was a no brainer. Terra added two and two together and came up with the answer. Taro's car had been hit by lightning, frying the engine and knocking him out.

For a moment, she debated leaving him there. But then she sighed and pulled Welded to a stop. Maybe this way she would be able to repay her debt to him, even if it was just a little bit. The girl got out and began hooking their cars together with a cable. She was going to have to tow her brother out of the Realm.

The drivers all gathered in a loose ring, debating whether or not to go after Kadeem, when Gig told them that the Storm Realm could not be reopened.

"Great, cause one Realm's enough for me!" Monkey said decisively.

"Typical Metal Maniac." Kurt scoffed as he limped over. "The Teku aren't afraid to try again."

"Ah, scrap the Teku!" Monkey argued dismissivly. "Metal Maniacs do whatever we want! Right Wylde?"

"Nobody scares Wylde away from a race." Markie replied, a rare occurance in which both the Wylde brothers were in agreement with each other.

"What? You want to go back in there?" Monkey said in disbelief. "Why?"

"We're drivers." Terra muttered from over by her car. She had helped Lani take Taro to the infirmary, and was currently separating the cars so she could move hers. "We live to drive. We drive to survive. It's our life, our reason for existing. What's the point of being a racer when you run from a race because of a loss, or a crash? You might as well not drive."

"But look what those Drones dudes did to us!" Now the jumpy ginger was feverently protesting the decision to stay, wanting to get the heck out of there.

"Look what they did to me!" The drivers looked up to see a greying man, the one from the video, standing on the elevated walkway. His entire body was encased in some metal support suit.

"We have work to do." Tezla stated before walking away.

* * *

Talia stood on top of the mesa, surveying the desert. A set of coordinates was written on a piece of paper that she held in her hands. A phone was pressed to her ear.

"Hello?" the tinny voice said as the person on the other end picked up. It was barely audible over the pounding bass in the background. Talia smirked.

"Still sharing music at ear shattering levels I see." She said. "But never mind that. Terra and Verity and I have scored the Metal Teku a big time race. We'll meet you at the coordinates I texted you. Think you've got a couple of months to spare?"

Here she paused, and added something. "By the way, there's a boy who's coming. His name is Shirako…Takamoto."

Verity was down in the lower levels, also making a call.

"Yeah, a race." She said into the phone. "I texted you the coordinates where Talia, Terra, and I'll meet you and Gale. You should come. Sure it'll be a few months long, but your cousin is here."

A few moments passed, and then Verity smiled. "Great. We'll see you two soon. Catch you later, Aurora."

* * *

**Finished. Next chapter will be the start of the Swamp Realm, and the rest of the main characters will come into play. Until then, leave a review for me so I know how I did!**


	8. Swamp Realm Bound

**Chapter 8: Swamp Realm Bound**

**No new reviews yet. C'mon, you guys are killing me with you lack of feedback! **

**You know the drill: I don't own, you don't sue, and that makes for happy readers and happy writers!**

* * *

The drivers were busy fixing their cars, minus Talia, Terra, and Verity. They had driven off somewhere. But their stuff was still in their rooms, which meant that they would be back soon.

"Hey, does anyone hear music?" Monkey asked all of a sudden, ignoring Kurt's cry of pain as he hit his head on the chassis of his car. Monkey hopped down off the hydraulic lift he had been sitting on.

"That must be my ride." He said. "I got in touch with Tork. Yes, I told him what happened."

With that, the mechanic walked a little towards the entrance, no doubt waiting for his ride to come and whisk him away. however, Markie frowned as he listened to the music, which was steadily growing louder.

"That's no Metal Maniac." He muttered.

In the other garage, Karma was working on Chicane when she too heard the music. the only female of the Teku grinned when the techno beats drifted into the garage.

"Shirako." She said before she and Vert walked towards the exit/entrance, Kurt limping behind them.

Outside, two cars approached the jump and sailed over the cliff's edge, coming to a landing in the Acceledrome. Both of the drivers got out, the first one shutting off his music. this one was a skinny, scrawny, yet somehow still cute Asian American, with blue black hair spiked up in a Mohawk-esque fashion, and headphones on his ears, no doubt blasting more of the music his car had been playing. The other one was a Latino, still skinny but a lot taller than his companion.

"You had no right to reveal the location of the Acceledrome!" Tezla yelled at Monkey.

"Hey, hey, I don't talk to Teku!" Monkey replied. "You can drop that right there man!"

"I told them." Kurt said firmly as he hobbled up on crutches. "Because we need help."

"Listen, what we are doing here is top secret!" Tezla said in a low tone of voice.

"Why?" Kurt challenged. "Who're you afraid of?"

"The Drones." Tezla replied.

"The Drones are finished!" Nolo snapped. "Nobody beats the Teku!"

"You mean nobody but the Metal Maniacs!" Wylde corrected him.

"I mean nobody." Nolo replied heatedly. Markie snorted. The kids had guts, he would grant him that much.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." He said dismissively. The brewing argument was blown out, though, by the arrival of another car in the Acceledrome.

"Ha-ha! That is my ride." Monkey said happily, walking over to the car where the driver, an African American, climbed out. "Hey, let's get out of here, Tork!"

"After what the drones did to you and Taro? No way!" Tork replied.

"But that's the idea of leaving, Tork," the mechanic protested weakly.

"Nobody does this to my guys!" Tork replied, making it clear that his mind was made up. "We're welded!"

"Let's just get outta here!"

"Send this Maniac scum back to the junkyard!" Nolo snapped.

"Hey, watch it punk!" Tork replied, brushing Monkey to the side and fixing Nolo with a glare. However, the sound of a horn blaring drew their attention.

"Is that…?" Monkey wondered aloud before picking himself off the ground. "No, it couldn't be. He said he'd be gone for months."

However, he was cut off by the huge semi-truck crashing through the emergency exit door. It pulled to a stop, horns blaring before the driver shut it off and got out.

"You really didn't have to come, Pork Chop-" Monkey was cut off yet again as Pork Chop easily hoisted him into the air by the strap of his bag.

"Alright." He said in a thick southern accent. "Who did this to you?" he demanded, ignoring the strange looks the Teku were shooting him and the strangled cries of help from his captive. Instead, he went on about how the drones were going to pay. He didn't drop Monkey until Tork told him to stop monkeying around.

The noise managed to wake Taro up from his nap. Yawning and running a hand through his hair in an attempt to get it to lie somewhat flat, he walked out of the infirmary, curious as to what the noise was.

* * *

Talia, Terra, and Verity were at the cube, working on their cars. The ruined building allowed for a nice view of the surrounding desert with all the holes in the walls. Currently the three girls were waiting for Gale and Aurora to show up. Then the Metal Teku would all be at the race, reunited for the first time in a year.

"Does anyone else here music?" Verity asked all of a sudden. Sure enough, as the others listened closely, they could hear the faint pounding of techno beats in the distance, although it was gradually growing louder.

"Think it's Gale?" Talia wondered aloud. It was the same kind of music she listened to. But Terra frowned.

"It can't be. You'd be lucky to catch her playing her music this softly."

"That's true." Talia conceded. "Maybe it's that Shirako dude that Kurt called?"

Eventually the music faded, and the girls went back to work on their cars, when the sound of more music filled the air. this was much louder than the other music, although it fit into the same genre. And this time, it didn't eventually fade away. instead, it continued growing louder and louder, surpassing the volume of a rock concert. And then the vehicles pulled into the cube.

* * *

The drivers were still loosely congregated at the exit when the alarms began to blare. The newcomers to the party were all shocked, while the older ones rolled their eyes. Here they go again.

"What's going on?" Tork wondered. He got his answer soon enough as the hologram in the center of the room began to separate into three different rings and began to twist around the empty space in the middle.

"Yo, does anybody else hear music?" Shirako suddenly asked. The other drivers looked at him funny. How on earth was he able to hear anything over the wailing klaxons and the loud music blaring through his headphones? But it was there, a faint, pulsing melody that cut through the alarm, interspersed with the revving of engines. It was growing steadily louder. And then the green vehicle burst through the holographic doors.

"Incoming!" Pork Chop hollered. Several of the drivers dove out of the way of the vehicle, which had hit the ground before zooming into the room, barely missing Nolo.

"What the heck?" the Latino yelled, not too happy that he had almost been run over. But before anyone could react, four other cars also burst through the doors, and followed the green car into the massive building.

"What was that all about?" Aurora wondered over the radio.

"No clue." Talia replied as she drove onto the track, the accelerator instantly boosting her speed to 200 mph. "But I have the sneaking suspicion that I almost just ran over my older brother." She shrugged. "Oh well."

The other Metal Teku laughed at this statement. Then they continued racing on the track. In the center, the final ring of the Wheel came into alignment with the others. Again the flare of light filled the large cavernous room, and the portal appeared in the center.

More than a few of the newcomer's jaws dropped as the portal appeared. Meanwhile, up on the track, the five cars pulled into the natural rock cave before coming out on the jump. They were out of sight for a split second before reappearing as they went over the jump. Each of the blurry streaks glowed white as they neared the portal, and then they vanished.

"You sure this is safe?" Nolo asked suspiciously, while the other drivers were still trying to work through what was going on.

"Um, let me see here…" Kurt said as he got into Battle Spec, ignoring Lani's fervent protests that he wasn't recovered sufficiently enough. "No, probably not."

"But on the bright side, these Realms are pretty awesome." Vert added as he climbed into his own vehicle.

"Kurt, you can't race!" Lani argued. "For heaven's sake, you're on crutches! You can barely walk!"

"Who's walking?" Kurt asked her before shifting gears and speeding forward. Lani rolled her eyes, when the rumbling of another engine caught her attention. Sure enough, Taro had gotten into Riveted and was running a few quick checks on the vehicle. As if he could sense her looking at him, he glanced up; the look on his face almost daring her to argue about him going. Then he was off, joining Kurt, Vert, and Wylde

"Don't worry. Kurt's just pulling your leg." Karma said as she started up Chicane. Nolo and Shirako looked at each other, dimly aware that the remaining Metal Maniacs were getting into their own vehicles – Pork Chop dragging Monkey into Jack Hammer. This whole thing didn't sound possible, but a race was a race. As the five drivers currently on the track hit the portal, the remaining Teku got into their cars, and the five racers drove towards the track.

However, Pork Chop struck Karma a glancing blow, sending her spinning out into a large stack of tires. Her car stalled, and then the windshield broke due to the tires landing on her hood. She angrily hit the dash.

"Maniac." She muttered irritated. She wanted to race, not watch a race. Behind her, Pork Chop made it onto the track, where he was accelerated to 170 miles an hour. He whooped with excitement, loving the race already. Monkey, however, was less than thrilled.

"You don't even have to stop, Pork Chop!" He pleaded. "Just slow down, I'll jump!"

"Yee-haw!" Pork Chop hollered, ignoring his friend completely. "I love this job! Ha-hah!" He pushed the gas pedal down even further, if that was possible, and sped closer to Shirako's bumper, ignoring the strangled cry of Pork Chop from his unwilling companion.

The portal was coming up, and the accelerator right at the end gave the cars one last burst of speed, forcing the driver's heads back into the seat due to the sudden acceleration. The jump was looming ahead, closer and closer. Then they were sailing through the air, and the shroud of white surrounded the cars.

Here goes absolutely nothing.

* * *

**Finished with yet another chapter. Having siblings myself, this fic is especially fun to write! If your reading this, my older sibling whom I will not give out their name or gender to protect their identity, don't forget that I'll be driving before you know it! You should be scared, very scared! Just kidding, I wouldn't do anything like that to you. Well, at least I probably wouldn't...**

**Oh, and once this fic has been completed, you'll be happy to hear that it won't be the end of the siblings. Originally, I actually had five different fics focused around a sibling of one of the racers, with the exception of Talia and Verity being a racing duo; and then a whole other character named Maria that I scrapped altogether. But now, looking back on this story that grew out of those fics and the half finished rough drafts I made, I decided that those fics deserve a chance. So, soon I'll be releasing a fic book series on this website called Acceleracers: Sibling Rivalries. Here's how they'll be laid out.**

**Book 1: Aurora**

**Book 2: Gale**

**Book 3: Terra**

**Book 4: Talia and Verity**

**Book 5: Maria**

**I also decided that Maria will be making a few appearances in this fic as well. Hopefully you'll like the character.**

**Anyway, you know the drill. Leave a review for me to read! I actually do enjoy reading what you think, contrary to popular belief! Stick around for the next installment, coming to a computer near you in the not so distant future!**


	9. Swamp Realm (part 1)

**Swamp Realm (part 1)**

**Anyway, you know I just have to take care of a few things first.**

**Hey, my man No Brakes! Thanks so much for leaving a review! I'm so glad you like the story and the characters. Don't worry, I have every intention to continue this story! I'm having way too much fun writing it to stop. And if you ever get an account, make sure to send me a message so I can read some of your stuff.**

**Guilty confession of the day: I love writing this fic, because I have siblings. And one of them can drive, so it's especially fun to imagine the look on their face when they read this. Something tells me when I finally get my drivers permit, they might move off the continent...**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing official! DON'T SUE ME! You really don't want to, I have no money anyway. And then I wouldn't be able to write my stories...**

* * *

A blue rent opened up in the Realm, and spit out five cars before closing again. It was the Metal Teku, and they were eagerly observing their surroundings.

"Yo, cool!" Gale muttered as she turned up the volume of her music slightly. The other girls were awestruck as they observed the massive trees, the humongous hanging vines, and the giant plants. The Realm was not noisy and chaotic like the Storm Realm, instead being quiet and filled with the faint noises of the jungle. But that didn't fool the girls. Any moment now, all heck could break loose.

A flash of light distracted the girls, and they looked over to the side to see several more vehicles land on the track, and a strangled gasp escaped from Vert.

The entire convoy of people drove through the trees, the girls separate from the Metal Maniacs and the Teku. However, this fact wasn't unnoticed by the others.

"Who're they?" Pork Chop wondered.

"The people who almost ran me over." Nolo muttered sourly. Looks like he was still a little upset

"Who cares?" Taro said. "We need to figure out a plan."

He would have been surprised to know that, over with the girls, his sister was thinking the exact same thing.

* * *

"We need to figure out a plan." Terra said.

"Yeah," Talia muttered. "If we're going to win…" She trailed off as she looked around the place. Nothing, except for a few branching tracks. This gave her an idea. "Okay, everyone!" she announced on the Metal Teku's private radio frequency. "Pick a track, any track!" With that, she picked a random track and zoomed down it.

The other girls shrugged, but it was obvious that this was the best strategy. So they split up, Verity going on the track left to the one Talia had taken. Terra took the one to the right of Talia, then Gale the one to the right of that, and then finally Aurora to the right of that.

"Stay online, girls!" Talia radioed as TechTyte vanished into the trees. "See you in the real world!"

"Be careful!" Verity added. "And yes, that includes you too Talia."

"I'm always careful!" Talia said before taking a turn a little too fast and a little sharper than was necessary. She made sure her tires squealed loud enough for Verity to hear them over the radio. The African American groaned and rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she had to wonder about the youngest Pasero.

* * *

"Hey!" Tork asked. "Which track are we supposed to take?"

"They could all lead to the end." Tezla said patiently. Lani rolled his eyes, and then glared at Gig as the little robot pointed out that the last time, the tracks led to nowhere. Fortunately Tork, or any of the other drivers, didn't seem to hear him.

"Hey look!" Vert said. "Those other cars are splitting up!" The Metal Maniac and the Teku both looked over at the other cars, just in time to see them split up and go vanishing into the jungle trees. "Think we should do that too?"

"It's too risky!" Lani protested.

"It's the only way." Tezla replied, covering his microphone so that the other drivers couldn't hear the argument. "Tell them Lani!"

Lani frowned, recalling the fact that she had told Banjee, Alec, and Dan what Tezla wanted them to do. She also recalled that after she had relayed the information, they had also lost contact with their drivers. All three of them were assumed dead. The Realms that Alec and Dan had lost in hadn't opened up again. Did that mean that they had been completed by the Drones? Probably. Yet the Swamp Realm, the one that Banjee had been lost in; opened up again. Did that mean that no one had won? Is that why it had opened up?

Either way, she wasn't going to tell them what to do. "No, you tell them." She snapped. Tezla sighed and shook his head, before uncovering his microphone.

"This is Dr. Tezla." He said, ignoring the eye rolling from the drivers as he stated the blatantly obvious. "We think you should split up."

"Okay." Nolo said with a shrug. "Teku, we're splitting up. Stay online!" The other Teku shrugged, but picked their own tracks and prepared to zoom down them.

"Let's move some Metal, Maniacs." Tork said. The two teams split up, going down the different tracks and leaving each other to their own race.

* * *

As Talia drove, her mind wasn't on the race, not even when the giant bugs started swarming around her car. No, her mind was on the past.

Particularly her brothers. She would never forget how they had left.

* * *

(Flashback)

Talia had been nine at the time, when they had left. She had come out of the house to see Tone and Nolo packing up stuff into Synkro.

"Hola hermanos!" She said. "Whatcha doing?'

"Um…going out for a drive?" Nolo said weakly.

"Ooh! Can I come?" Talia squealed before clasping her hands together and fixing Tone with her best puppy dog eyes. "Please, Tone? Por favor?"

"Nolo, get in the car." Tone ordered. Nolo shrugged.

"Okay." He said, before giving his sister a quick hug. "Adios, sis. And I love you, Tal, despite the fact you're a total girly girl" With that, he let go, walked over to the car, and got in.

"What's going on?" Talia frowned, smoothing her skirt where Nolo's hug had wrinkled it. "He never does that! So why now? Nolo esta enfermo? Never mind, though. When are you going to be back?"

"Talia, listen to me." Tone said. "We aren't coming back."

"Oh, real funny, Tone." Talia said sarcastically, brushing some nonexistent dirt off her jacket. "I know you're coming back. You promised me that you would play with me. And you always come back, always!"

"This time, we aren't." Tone replied.

"Ah, si," Talia said. "Esta bien. Give me five minutes to pack, and I'll be ready to leave too."

"But-"

"Oh, don't worry, Tone." She interrupted him. "I promise I'll only take one backpack, and it'll weigh less than a hundred pounds, and I'll pack necessities first, and-"

"No."

"No?" she asked, taken aback. "What do you mean, no? Aren't I coming too?"

"Look." Tone said. "If you haven't noticed, nuestro padre es muerto. Ahora, Mama es trabaja mas. I'm old enough to strike out on my own, and I'm taking Nolo with me. He's more than old enough to learn how to race."

"So take me too." Talia pleaded. "Mom will have less stress with no kids to take care of. I can help race too!"

"No." Tone firmly said. "You're too much of a girl Talia. You like clothes, and dressing up in fancy outfits, and reading romance novels, and watching chic flicks. You don't know the slightest thing about racing, or how to live in the real world. You're too much of a girly girl to survive the life Nolo and I are going to live. You'd be dead weight, you'd only drag us down, slow us down. You're not going! Everyone has a place in this world, and your place is here with Mom; helping out with the laundry and the dishes and cleaning the house. You'd slow us down, and frankly, I'm sick of how you act. You're not wanted on this trip, not by me, not by Nolo, not by any of us. You stay here."

"I'm…I'm not…wanted?" Talia muttered in shock.

"That's right." Tone said firmly. Talia let out a strangled cry before sinking hopelessly to her knees, her brother's outline blurred by the tears pouring down her cheeks. Tone turned his back on the sniveling girl and walked back to the car, opening the door and climbing in.

"What did you say to her?" Nolo asked. Tone looked back at the crumpled figure of his sister, who was still crying.

"Things that no older brother should ever say to his sister." He finally replied as he started up the car engine. "But that I had to say anyway to keep her here." He started up the car and pulled out of the driveway, Nolo unbuckling his seatbelt and turning around to get a last glimpse of his sister. The girl was wailing now, he could hear it through the windows. As he watched, as Tone drove further and further west, she shrank from a human being to a blur to an indistinct blob to a smear of color on the horizon before vanishing altogether.

(End Flashback)

* * *

Yeah, not cool. She had been crushed when Tone and Nolo left, and her life had gone downhill from there. She had tried to move on, but seeing Synkro sitting in the Acceledrome, and what appeared to be her youngest older brother, had stirred up a bunch of old feelings. She wasn't sure if she hated him or was overly thrilled to see him. Of course, she wasn't going to act overtly emotional. That was something she would have done in her drama queen lifestyle, when she was the poster child for girly girls everywhere.

A large fist crashing down on the track drew her out of her thoughts, and she noticed that a bunch of plant like monsters were trying to play whack-a-car. Better to drive now and think later, she decided as she sped up.

After all, being pancaked was not high on her to do list.

* * *

Nolo was driving along, lost in thought, thinking about that strange green car. He had only caught a passing glimpse of it, but one thing popped into his mind.

Synkro.

Yes, the car looked exactly like his brother's…no, his car. But that was impossible; he had been standing right near Synkro when those strange cars pulled in. There was no way it could be Synkro. It was a one of a kind car built by his older brother. Tone had drawn up the plans himself, making the car truly unique. Synkro had no twin.

So what on earth was that car? And who on earth was driving it?

* * *

So what could that mysterious car be? And who owned it? Tork was driving along, his mind also on the weird cars. To be sure, the expression on Nolo's face after he almost got ran over was pretty funny, but the second car that had pulled in had stolen his amusement. It looked just like Hollowback, but that was impossible, right?

No wait, it could be. He had built Verity a car that was similar to his own. So maybe that was her car? But what on earth was she doing here. Last he heard, and the last time he had googled his sister's name on a whim, he found that she was attending some art academy. No mention of driving at all, didn't even have a student parking permit. Maybe it was just a coincidence that a car that appeared to be similar to his showed up.

He was about to continue pondering the vehicle when a flash of green and black caught his attention. Looking into his beat up rearview mirror, he noticed that he was being tailed by two strange looking cars. Those must be the drones Tezla was talking about. It matched what Wylde, Taro, and Monkey had described.

This thought had barely registered when the roaring, howling sound filled his ears. Glancing back ahead, he blanched as vine like claws began reaching for the moving vehicles. Somehow he made it through unscathed, but the drones behind him weren't so lucky. One of them got caught, and the claw began squeezing it.

Metal creaked, and the drone looked around, trying to process what had happened.

Another drone further down the track also got caught. This one wasn't as fortunate as its comrade, exploding due to the increase in pressure. The vine like monster howled as it was blown to bits in the ensuing explosion.

Back with the other drone, it watched as the other machines were caught and destroyed, as efficient as a fly in a trap. It was not planning on joining them, however. It had an Accelecharger on its side. Pulling out the strange microchip, it inserted it into the scanner and the vehicle read the information embedded in it. The vehicle glowed cyan for a moment before vanishing. It reappeared on the track a moment later and sped off, while the vine seemed to look around, wondering where the heck its prey went off to.

* * *

In another part of the Realm, Pork Chop and Monkey were driving by a putrid mosquito infested lake.

"Heh, it looks pretty good across the water, Pork Chop." Monkey pointed out. "It looks clear."

The burly southerner glanced in the direction his friend was pointing, looking at the water fearfully. However, this was not caught by the jumpy mechanic in the car with him. Instead, he kept on urging the driver to go to the other path.

But Pork Chop didn't listen. Instead, he hit the gas and continued on into the jungle.

"What are you doing, Pork Chop?" Monkey cried. "The other way was easier!"

"Bah, who needs easy?" Pork Chop asked, ignoring Monkeys' muttered exclamation that he did. But the red head ignored him and concentrated on his driving. He had a race to win.

However, both of the drivers were so occupied with the race that they failed to notice the sunken green car in the middle of the lake, moss and vines growing on it, and pond scum ringing the part that broke the surface.

* * *

**Finished with another chapter! Now I just need to type in the rest of the disclaimers and everything.**

**As you probably know, I used some Spanish in this chapter. Talia speaks Spanglish, a blend of English and Spanish, although she uses more English then Spanish. So, for those of you who don't speak Spanish, here are some translations:**

**Hola hermanos - hello brothers/hi bros****Por favor - please****Adios - goodbye ****Nolo esta enfermo - Is Nolo sick?****Si - yes****Esta bien - okay ****nuestro padre es muerto - our father is dead****Ahora, Mama es trabaja mas - Now mom has to work even harder.**

**Sorry if some of them aren't 100% accurate, but I only have a couple of years of Spanish class under my belt.**

**Anyway, leave a review for me to read!**


	10. Swamp Realm (part 2)

**Swamp Realm (part 2)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing official, don't sue me!**

* * *

Shirako wasn't thinking about anything, save that strange car with those wicked cool speakers. Seriously, he had never seen a car that had a better wound system than his. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he should be mad, jealous, or feel admiration for the mystery driver. On one hand, it really burned him up that another person had a better sound system than he had. But on the other hand, it was cool that there was some out there that liked music as much as he did. Well, as much as he and his sister did. But Gale liked pop and country, so she didn't count.

He was startled out of his thoughts when something jostled his vehicle. A quick glance out the windows, and he was met by the sight of a giant mosquito that had somehow grabbed his vehicle.

As he watched the bug hissed – do mosquitos even hiss? – and began flapping its wings. Bassline, and bug both lifted off the ground as the insect began flying off with its prey. The wings made this horrible buzzing sound that cut through his music, which actually was more annoying to the driver than the fact that a bug was making off with his vehicle.

"Man, if you're going to buzz, buzz in tune." He said to himself. And with that, he turned on his music full volume. The sound waves, loud enough to give anyone a headache, didn't appeal to the bug that much. It squealed before finally dropping his car. Shirako fell back down to terra firma, and landed on the track…

Where he almost collided with that strange vehicle that he had seen earlier.

* * *

Gale had been racing down the track, music blaring from the speakers. She was in a remarkably good mood, having confirmed with her own eyes what Verity had said: that her older brother was actually racing here in the flesh. Talk about a fun time. She wondered what kind of music Shirako played, before shaking her head. It would be that techno stuff he had been addicted to since he was about four and a half. She couldn't remember him playing anything else.

But the racer shook her head, filing those thoughts away for later viewing. The time to race was now, and the time to think was later.

Scarcely had she thought that when her brother's car fell out of the sky and landed on the track dead ahead of her. He fishtailed slightly before recovering his momentum and shot down the orange surface at top speed. Gale grinned, and turned her volume up, way up. Then she pressed on the gas and sped past him, laughing at the shocked look on his face as she passed.

"Two can play at that game, bro." she muttered softly to herself before laughing. Yes, this race was certainly turning out to be interesting.

* * *

Taro had been zipping along the track, a drone hot on his tail, when his day went from bad to worse.

It also went to bug infested.

Yes, another giant mosquito had swooped down on his vehicle. The Asian looked up for a second before shrugging and going back to driving. If a bug wanted to land on his car, he wasn't going to do anything about it.

The mosquito didn't seem to like being ignored. It howled angrily.

The only thing that saved Taro from becoming shish kabob was his peripheral vision. When the sudden movement caught his eye, he jerked his arm out of the way.

Not even a second later, the bug's spear-like mouth pierced the metal roof of his car. It was quickly withdrawn, and a few seconds later, the bug tried stabbing him again. Taro flinched, as this one was a lot closer to him this time. Again, the bug pulled its mouth back out, and stabbed it in a third time.

This time, Taro was ready. Reaching out, he grabbed a hold of the insect, preventing it from trying to kill him a fourth time. Thank goodness he was wearing gloves.

''Okay, now what?" He muttered, acutely aware that he was going about this without any plan whatsoever.

He received the answer to his question almost instantly. The Maniac grinned, before stepping on the gas. Up on the roof, the mosquito screamed as it noticed what Taro had seen.

Five seconds later, it crashed face first into the tree root. Taro smirked before glancing at the bug's weapon of choice with distaste. The man threw it out the window before continuing down the track, no bugs daring to try anything funny with him.

* * *

Taro and Shirako weren't the only ones having trouble with the bugs. Nolo was currently having his own trouble with the flying insects. One had swooped down on his car, as if he didn't have enough problems with the drone that was a master at riding other people's bumpers, and had landed on the roof. The next thing the Latino heard was a screech, and then a thump. A quick glance backwards showed that the bug had stuck that weird mouth it had into his car. What did the teachers call it? A proboscis? Yeah, that was it.

Anyway, that bug appeared to be sucking the fuel out of his tank, judging from the readings on the meter. Well, he couldn't have that, now could he? A press of a button on the dashboard activated some lights Tone had rigged onto the car.

The mosquito didn't seem to like that very much. It jerked the proboscis out of the gas tank and took flight.

It never saw the jet that was flying above it. Bug and Machine collided with each other in midair, and the result was an incredible explosion, a huge fireball.

Nolo didn't have time to watch the fireballs, and instead drove off down the track.

* * *

"Geeze, these drones don't quit, do they?" Aurora asked aloud as she zipped down the track, a trio of drones hot on her heels. The bubbly blonde wasn't letting this dampen her enthusiasm, no way. Nothing, nothing, would ever force her to lose her enthusiasm. It was such an important part of her character that she didn't believe she'd ever give it up.

Speaking of the drones, they were gaining on her. She pressed down on the gas and sped up, leaving the drones to choke on her dust. But she wasn't going to just let them off that easily. Instead, as soon as she was a reasonable distance away, she pulled a sharp U-turn and sped back towards the drones.

"So, metal heads, let's see how you like a game of chicken!" She laughed. "First one to turn away loses!" And with that, she pressed the gas pedal to the floor and accelerated to maximum speed. Closer and closer the drones came to her, but the girl wasn't going to back down. Then finally, the drones swerved, one going right and the other going left.

A pity the track was so narrow they sailed right off the edge and crashed, exploding into giant green fireballs. Aurora laughed and pulled another one-eighty before zipping back down the track at top speed. If only her cousin could have seen that.

* * *

Kurt was speeding down the track, chasing after the drones. Payback for two years ago! Finally! He was ready, had been for two years after the drones had forced him into spying on the other Highway 35 racers.

A malicious glint in his eyes, he suddenly sped up and rammed one of the other drones, sending it sailing off the track. It exploded against a tree branch, and Kurt smirked as he looked back to admire his handiwork. Then he faced front again, and rammed the other one. The metal machine also exploded against a branch after being driven off the track by Kurt.

"Nice try!" he said sarcastically, waving a hand goodbye. But something in front of him attracted his attention, and he cried out in shock and hit the brakes. Moments later, his car went from 190 to 0 as he slammed against the vines blocking the track. Thankfully he had hit the brakes, and turned to the side, so the right side of his vehicle took the brunt of the impact and he didn't crash headfirst into the natural road block.

"Gah, dead end!" he snapped angrily and he hit the steering wheel out of frustration. However, something strange attracted his attention, and he paused in his outburst to take a closer look. It was a strange truck-like object with eight wheels and a red, exposed cab. The thing was covered with vines, as if it had been there for a while. Kurt shrugged, before an idea began forming in his mind.

"Lani!" He asked. "Could the Accelerons have left some kind of machine inside the Realm? You know, maybe…maybe something that would help a driver?"

"He's found a hyperpod, an Acceleron vehicle transformer." Tezla realized. Lani grinned and turned back to the control panel.

"Yes, Kurt, we think you could use it!" Lani replied. Kurt nodded and drove over to the strange vehicle, parking his car in the red cab. The machine rumbled to life, and he grinned before pressing down on the gas pedal. The machine moved forward, and soon he was driving over the vines that had previously been blocking his path.

* * *

Kurt wasn't the only one who found a hyper pod. Pork Chop and Monkey were having their own troubles with a drone jet. Pork Chop glared out the window at the black object, before a malicious glint appeared in his eye.

"Hey, Monkey man." He instructed. "Hand me that anchor chain."

"What do you have an anchor chain for?" Monkey asked as he turned around and reached back to grab a hold of the metal rope.

"My anchor." Pork Chop replied tersely, wondering why his friend would ask such an inane and silly question. Monkey rolled his eyes, and handed the chain to the driver. Pork Chop grinned and accepted the chain, before reaching under the dashboard and grabbing an honest to goodness anchor. He then attached the chain to the anchor and gripped it tightly, before sticking the rust red metal tool and checked behind him to make sure his aim was true. He glanced back one last time, before throwing the anchor.

It connected with the cockpit of the jet, the pilot looking around as if trying to find what had latched onto its jet. Pork Chop grinned and began shaking the chain, causing the jet to jerk through the air. Finally, it tried to veer sharply away and release the chain from its metal body. However, it didn't work out the way the drone planned it.

Instead, it crashed against a large vine and blew up. The anchor was pulled back with the wreckage of the jet, and Pork Chop tried to keep a hold of it before eventually letting go. However, the force of the car being released from the resistance of the anchor chain caused them to fall off the track, where the car rolled over a few times and landed on a strange vehicle.

It was another hyperpod, and this one was equipped with a set of twin drills. It started up, the drills beginning to the spin.

"What is this thing?" Monkey asked. "I don't know, Monkey man." Pork Chop replied. "But I like it. Yee-haw!" With that, he pressed down on the gas pedal and the vehicle charged forward, drilling a hole in the vines that it came into contact with.

* * *

Wylde was driving down the track, a car that he recognized as Terra's behind him. Man, that girl creeped him out. She was so similar to Taro it wasn't funny. Well, if Taro was a girl that is. Either way, that girl seriously gave him the creeps. At any given moment you could feel like someone was staring at you, and then you would look up and be trapped in the scrutiny of her strange brown eyes.

Either way, she hadn't tried to contact him, not that he was complaining about that, so he decided to focus his attention on the drone that was chasing after the two of them. He could see that it had charged up one of those green electrical missiles and was aiming it at the pair. As he watched it fired, striking Terra's car. The girl spun out and disappeared over the edge of the track, only to reappear moments later on the track that was running perpendicular to the one he was on. She pressed down on the gas pedal and accelerated, following the track up the incline before vanishing again into the trees.

Wylde watched her go, when a large green foot was crashed down onto the track, causing it to shake. He flinched slightly as the owner of the foot, a green plant like monster that would have put big foot to shame, howled. To make matters worse, the drone behind him had charged up another shot, and had fired it at him. Thinking fast, he swerved off the track.

The EMP shot hit the monster in the leg. It didn't seem to like that too much, and plucked a passing jet out of the sky before hurling it onto the drone car. Both robots met their end in a terrific explosion.

Wylde's car flipped over a few times before coming to a landing on a green tube-shaped object. He wondered briefly what the heck it was, not sure if he wanted an answer.

He got one soon enough. The giant slug that his car had landed on lifted its head and screamed at him. Wylde flinched away, appalled and disgusted, before realizing that getting out of there might be a good idea. He shifted gears and pressed down on the gas, driving back up the slug's slimy body and back onto the track. With that, he sped off, determined to put as much distance between him and that monstrosity as he could.

* * *

Taro and Vert had both ended up driving on the same track, and the boys both were being chased by another drone. This one drove a different car than all the others. Maybe that meant that it was the leader. Who cared?

Well, the drone appeared to care about the fact that it was in last place. It pulled out the Accelecharger it had on it and inserted it into the scanner. The car glowed blue before vanishing. It reappeared in front of Taro, booting him to second place and Vert to last.

"They can't stop the Accelechargers." The drone said flatly. Gelorum smirked as she heard this, knowing that they had won.

However, the celebration was short lived, as something crashed into the green car. It was Taro, and from the look on his face, he wasn't going to let the drones be in front for long.

"Not this time." He said, before deploying a spiked plow and ramming it into the other car, anchoring the two together. He then hit the brakes, the momentum of the two cars coming to a crashing halt. It also had the adverse effect of causing the cars to roll over, and they went flipping down the track.

* * *

**And then another chapter is done. Let me know how I did with a review, please!**


	11. Swamp Realm (part 3)

**Swamp Realm (part 3)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing official, don't sue me!**

* * *

Vert paled, before remembering the jump jets he had put in his car. With that, he activated them, and safely bypassed the crash site. He landed farther down the track and hit the gas, speeding around the corner and disappearing from view.

Behind him, the cars came to a stop. Somehow, probably in all the rolling around, they got separated. Taro shook his head a few times to clear it, while the drone angrily watched the retreating form of Vert's car. It went into attack mode, and sped off down the track, Taro hot on the machine's heels.

The other drivers were making their way down the tracks as well. Pork Chop and Kurt had both made it through the vines that blocked their tracks, while the rest of the drivers were also getting to the point where the trees and vines weren't as thick.

"Hey, I can see the end of the track!" Vert said suddenly. Sure enough, past what looked like a giant, rotting tree stump, he could see the blue ring-shaped portal in the distance. And the symbol was still glowing, too, so that meant that no one had taken the Accelecharger yet. After the horrors of the jungle, it appeared that the rest of the Realm was going to be smooth sailing.

Then the tree stump let out a terrific howl, and opened its glassy yellow-orange eyes.

And with that howl, the jungle came alive. Vines began swooping in out of nowhere, chasing after Power Rage. Vert paled slightly, and tried to avoid them. With a single swerve, he ended up driving on the very side of the track, where mossy green plants grew. His tires couldn't grip the surface as well, and his vehicle slowed down fractionally. The surfer realized this, and turned back onto the middle of the track, where he sped up again. But the damage was already done.

At first, nothing, then a sharp jerk and his vehicle left the track. A quick glance behind him showed that a vine had managed to hook itself to his car, and currently was the cause of his predicament. Worse, more vines began weaving their way around the vehicle, trapping him in a living prison.

"Lani!" Vert radioed in a panic. "You gotta warn the other drivers to be careful! There's this giant monster and-" his transmission was cut off in a burst of static as a vine broke through the side window and smashed his radio, before beginning to wind itself around his arm; even as more vines began creeping into the white vehicle.

Below him, the vines were also going after the drone that was chasing him. It used an Accelecharger, one that turned the car it was driving into something as flat as a piece of paper. The vines couldn't get a grip on it, every time they did, the car sliced through them. Vert frowned, before an idea struck him. He ripped the vine off his arm using his free hand, ignoring the other one that was trying to strangle his steering wheel for the time being. Instead, he hit the button that deployed his grappling hook.

The weapon hit the back of the drone's vehicle, forcing it to return to the third dimension. But the resistance from the vines restraining him was too much for the grappling hook to handle, and the rope was pulled from his car. Below, the vines managed to catch the drone, and lifted their prey from the track, encircling it in a living prison. Both human and drone became ensnared in the vines, restrained to the point of no movement.

* * *

Pork Chop and Monkey arrived just in time to see the drone get captured.

"If we go fast enough, they won't even be able to catch us!" Monkey suggested.

"It's no use trying to dodge the vines, Pork Chop." Lani argued, shooting down the idea. But Monkey wasn't to be deterred.

"Drive! Drive! Drive!" the jumpy ginger said, egging his friend on. "Use the nitrox!" Pork Chop shrugged, and hit the button that activated his nitrox booster. His car shot forward, spewing red flames and popping up on its back wheels. They were charging right into the thick of the vines, and Monkey flinched as one barely missed his arm. "Stay in the groove, Pork Chop!" He yelled as his friend swerved side to side, dodging the incoming vines.

* * *

Lani was watching in the Acceledrome, when a vine came rushing towards the car's camera. She saw the car get caught by the vines. She head Monkey yell out a warning, and through the camera saw a vine rushing towards the cockpit. Involuntarily, she flinched as it hit, changing the camera and audio to static.

* * *

High above the Realm, the vines began ensnaring the rest of Jack Hammer. Monkey pointed out that Pork Chop didn't stay in the groove, and his burly friend rolled his eyes, muttering a few words under his breath as he did so. Looked like the two of them weren't going anywhere fast.

"The nitrox boost isn't enough, they have to go even faster." She thought for a moment, knowing that Tezla probably wouldn't offer her any help on this one. Then it hit her, and she turned back to the control consul. "Nolo, Tork! You two need to draft together. It's the only way to get more speed."

"Yeah right, like that's going to happen!" Vert said. "Those two can barely stand being on the same continent!"

"Yeah, you can stay behind me, Nolo." Tork said with a laugh. "Where you Teku trash belong."

Nolo scowled at this statement, not appreciating the fact that Tork had just insulted him and his team. He angrily shifted gears, and sped up.

"Nolo, what do you think you're doing?" Lani demanded.

"Watch me." He replied tersely. However, he was interrupted by someone rudely running into his bumper. A quick glance behind him showed that the Maniac of all Maniacs, AKA Wylde, had caught up to him.

"Hah! C'mon, draft with me Tork!" he suggested. Tork smirked, then swerved into the front end of Synkro, while on the opposite side, Wylde did the same to the back end of the vehicle. The staggered nature of the hits, as well as the positioning, caused Nolo to spin out. His car crashed against the side of the track, thankfully out of reach of the vines. He groaned, and rubbed his head, knowing that he would have a few bruises in the morning. Up ahead, Tork fell in line behind Wylde, the two starting their attempt to make it to the end.

* * *

Up above them, the vines were continuing their assault on the other drivers. One of them pierced the window of Jack Hammer, and Pork Chop grabbed a hold of it. He tried to wrestle it out of the car, but eventually gave up and bit it. The vine retreated so fast someone passing by would have thought it had been burned. Monkey had his own problems, as a whole group of vines teamed up to tear off the passenger side door. Down below, he could see Wylde and Tork racing on the track,

"Wylde, stay in the center of the track!" Monkey radioed.

"Scrap it, Monkey." Wylde replied.

"It's true, it's stickier, it's got better traction."

"Monkey, now is not the best time!" Wylde snapped. He appreciated Monkey's help, but when he was driving along an interdimensional race course, in a swamp where everything was mutated to insanely huge sizes, and living vines were currently trying to play grab a car, this was not the best time for someone to be yelling advice at him.

The pair continued weaving their way through the vines, eventually becoming a trio as Kurt fell in line behind them. But almost as soon as he joined the little convoy, a disaster happened.

Tork and Wylde had been swerving on the track, drifting from the middle to the sides, then back to the middle. The mossy plants on the sides of the track had managed to slow them down, little by little, until they were going just slow enough to be caught by the vines. Kurt couldn't help but gasp as the cars were easily plucked from the track, and quickly ensnared in the vines above.

Kurt drifted over to the side of the track, dodging more vines. But the same thing that had happened to the Maniac's now happened to him, and he cried out in shock as the vines wrapped around his car and grabbed him from the track.

* * *

"What's going on?" Lani asked, sounding panicked. "What's happening?"

"They…didn't make it Lani." Vert sorrowfully reported, before crying out as a drone smashed its way through the windshield and clamped a hand down around his neck.

"Your head is next, human." It sneered before a larger, green hand enclosed it, ripping it from Vert's throat. The hand belonged to a green giant, not the one on the packages of frozen vegetables, but a monster.

It roared angrily, and ripped the drone in half before flinging both parts onto the track below. Vert sat there, a stunned look on his face. Then the vines rushed in through the hole in his windshield and began trying to mummify him. A giant slug, probably the same one Wylde had seen, screamed at Tork, while just a few feet away, Kurt vainly tried to free himself from the vines that had ensnared Battle Spec. A giant mosquito poked its head through Pork Chop's window, while Monkey was still trying to free himself from the vines. No sign of Shirako, Taro, or any of those five strange vehicles.

And then there was Nolo. He hadn't moved from his spot after the crash, instead observing the entire capture of the drivers. He thought for a moment, before taking a deep breath. The look on his face changed to one of determination, and he pulled a 180 before zooming down the track, a convoy of drones hot on his heels. And the vines began chasing after him.

As he drove, he tried paying attention to what he was doing. But he couldn't help but think back to that one night again…

* * *

(Flashback)

"You want to be the leader now, lil' bro?" Tone asked as he playfully punched Nolo in the arm.

"I don't know, man." Nolo replied, turning serious. "Being leader? Sounds like a heavy load, man."

"According to Talia, all you have to do to be a leader is to look nice, wear a crown, and live in a big fancy castle." Tone said teasingly.

"Talia's also nine years old." Nolo pointed out. "She doesn't know anything."

"Look, it's like taking a curve, bro." Tone finally said, also turning serious. "It's not so hard finding the right line, the hard part is staying in it." He paused, and looked over at his brother. "Just remember, Nolo. Stay in the groove."

(End Flashback)

* * *

"You got the groove, Tone…" Nolo muttered sadly. It was funny how Tone had given him that advice that night, almost as if he had known he was going to die, almost as if he had known that Nolo was going to end up being the leader.

"No! Listen to me!" Lani cried. "You have to wait for another car to draft with."

"If he waits, the drones win." Tezla said.

"You can't make it on your own, Nolo!" Lani protested.

"I'll make it!" Nolo retorted heatedly before muttering under his breath "If I stay in the groove."

"You could always ask one of the others to draft with him." Gig suggested flatly. Lani frowned.

"But Shirako and Taro both have broken axels, and won't be able to catch up in time, Karma never made it into the Realm; and Kurt, Vert, Tork, Pork Chop, Monkey, and Wylde are all caught by that creature. There's no one left to…" Here she paused in her rant, before groaning and facepalming herself. "Of course. I forgot about them."

With that, the Hawaiian switched the radio frequency to a different one. The one that the Metal Teku used. Well, at least the one she thought they used.

"Can anyone hear me?" She asked. For a moment, nothing. Then a crackling sound, and Talia's voice filled the air.

"Loud and clear, Lani. What's wrong?" She replied.

"How close are you to the end?" Lani asked. Talia looked around her. She could see the blue portal off in the distance and slightly below her. There was a ramp that probably led to the track below, as she was racing through the canopy of the jungle.

"Almost there. Why?"

"I need you to draft with Nolo." Lani explained. "He should be right below you."

"So, my older brother needs someone to draft with, huh?" Talia muttered, before speaking up. "Well, if you need someone to do it, then I'm your girl! Just leave it to me." And with that, the youngest Pasero pressed down on the gas pedal.

* * *

The drivers in the vines were still fighting, when out of the surrounding trees flew a green car. It landed on the track directly behind Nolo, and sped up so that it was just behind him. The drones all howled when they saw that another human had joined in the race, and that this one was ahead of them.

"Who's that?" Tork asked aloud. No one gave him an answer.

To say that Nolo was surprised when the strange car crashed onto the track right behind his was an understatement. He was a little apprehensive as it drove closer, since he didn't recognize it. Did that mean that it was an enemy? But the car made no attempt to pass him, instead settling in right behind his car. They were drafting with him, whoever they were.

Nolo decided to drive now, and ask questions later. He sped back up, realigning his car with the center of the track. His speed improved, something the Latino took notice of. The vines began chasing them in earnest with another howl from that strange tree-stump monster. One vine caught another drone, while a different one smashed down on a car and flattened it.

Nolo wisely decided that it was time to get out of there, and activated his nitrox. Synkro sped forward, spewing blue flames. Talia grinned, and activated her own nitrox boost. Green flames soon joined the blue ones, and she swiftly caught up with her brother.

Up ahead, the portal was being covered by vines in a last ditch effort to keep the drivers trapped in the Realm. Nolo gritted his teeth, and pressed the gas down as far as it would go. The end of the track was approaching, and it was a race to see whether or not they would make it. He reached the end, sailed off the jump…and barely made it through the portal. Some distance down the track, Talia slowed down a little, and breathed a quick sigh of relief. Then her intercom buzzed.

"C'mon, Talia." Verity said as she landed on the track next to her friend. "Let's get out of here!"

"Yeah." Talia agreed, before the two hit the gas and made the jump out of the Realm.

* * *

Karma had been meditating when Nolo exited the Realm. She turned to look over at the car, before getting up and walking over. Inside Synkro, Nolo was still trying to process what the heck happened, when some green light appeared inside his car. It gradually transmuted into what looked like a computer chip, and he hesitantly reached out to grab it.

"Nice job." Karma said as the Latino got out. Nolo opened his mouth to answer, when two more cars appeared from the portal. These ones pulled a sharp turn, and came to a stop some distance away from the two Teku racers, right where Karma had been sitting mere moments before. Nolo frowned, before starting over towards the green vehicle that looked exactly like Synkro.

* * *

**Let me know how I did with a review! Feedback is appreciated, flames are not!**


	12. Who the Heck are You?

**Who the heck are you?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything official, so don't sue me!**

* * *

Inside the Realm, all was still as it had been moments before, when Nolo hadn't won. But, a few seconds after he went through the portal, along with those two odd cars, a green wave of light blasted through the entire Realm, coming from the portal itself. None of the drivers saw it, as they were a little but preoccupied with their predicament.

Tork flinched away when the slug suddenly darted forward, mouth open to reveal a bunch of vicious teeth. Well, he flinched away as much as he could, with the vines restraining him. But then suddenly, it paused, and drew back, coiling back towards the ground. The vines began unwinding themselves from Hollowback.

Monkey screamed as a giant mosquito landed on top of Jack Hammer, but before the bug did anything, it raised its head and appeared to listen to something. Then it flew off, while the vines also uncoiled from the vehicle and drivers. Monkey and Pork Chop both cried out in shock as they immediately started falling through the air. They weren't the only ones; Tork, Kurt, and Vert all fell two. So did the drones, but they were pretty much spare parts at this point.

Behind them, the swamp monster let out one final howl, before stilling. Black, like an oil spill, began creeping along one of its two arms, turning the thing the color of ash. Eventually it covered up the whole creature, but whether it was petrified of dead no one knew.

The three remaining drones made tracks for the portal, ignoring the human drivers. They hit the jump and exited the Realm, leaving behind their fallen comrades. They had no use for scrap metal and spare parts, after all.

Pork Chop rubbed his head, having hit it in the landing, when that infernal noise filled his ears. He was, of course, referring to Shirako's music. The skinny Teku had finally caught up, when he stopped by Vert. The surfer was standing next to the wreckage of Power Rage, which had lost a wheel and landed on it's side. The blonde opened the door, and got in.

"Dumb stereo on wheels." Pork Chop muttered before clamping his teeth down on the bone he wore around his neck. The drivers all started up their cars, and drove towards the exit to the Realm, Shirako and Taro both going a little bit slower due to their broken axels.

* * *

In the Acceledrome, there was a series of flashes as the cars came in for landings. Almost as if it was an instinct, they split up; the Teku going over to park by Nolo's car, while the Metal Maniacs came to some distance away. In between the two groups were two of the strange cars, and Nolo and Karma were standing next to the green one, the one that looked like Synkro. The other drivers got out and walked over, the newcomers curious as to who could be driving them.

"Who are you, and how the heck did you get a copy of my car?" Nolo demanded, standing next to the car. His arms were crossed, and he was peering into the car through a window, trying to see through the heavy blue tint that was on it.

There seemed to be no answer from the vehicle for a long moment. Then the car door opened, swing up and out, just like Nolo's car. The Latino had to back up slightly to avoid being hit in the face.

"Despite having a hole in your gas tank, and a car that was liable to explode at any moment, you still managed to win." The driver said as she got out. Yes, it was a girl, and with her long black hair pulled into a ponytail, her bronze skin, and hazel eyes, she seemed eerily familiar to Nolo. Maybe it was the outfit, so similar to his own, save the color scheme? Is that why he remembered her faintly? But he couldn't remember where he had seen her before. She raised her head to look him square in the eye. "You've really improved, Nolo."

The other drivers looked at her strangely, wondering how she knew Nolo. Nolo himself frowned. "How the heck do you know my name?" He asked. The girl looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"En serio? Tu no recuerdas me?" She asked. "Ay caramba, what happened? Tu esta enfermo en la cabeza?"

The others couldn't understand her, but Nolo scowled. "No, I'm not." He said firmly.

"Ah, Bueno." She replied. "You are a little on the young side for Alzheimer's. So what happened, you get into one crash too many or something?"

"No, and I still don't know who you are." Nolo muttered.

"You really have no idea who I am?" She asked. "I the most important girl in your life that's under the age of twenty?"

"Wait, if you're the most important girl in his life that's under the age of twenty, does that mean you're his girlfriend?" Monkey asked.

Talia laughed. "You know, I've heard a lot of different guesses over the years, but never that one."

"Look, why don't you just cut the smoke and mirrors and tell me who the heck you are!" Nolo snapped.

"I see you still have your short temper." She noted dryly, before pulling a photo out of her pocket and holding it up for Nolo to see. On it were three kids. "Perhaps this will refresh your memory. La primera de abril, mil novecientos noventa y nueve. Nosotros levantamos Tono son las doce y uno por la noche. We overheard him saying that he could sleep in until seven o'clock, and still have time to set up a few tricks for us."

Nolo frowned, looked at the photo, then at the girl, then back at the photo. Recognition dawned in his eye. "No way…" he muttered, before looking back at the girl. "Talia?"

* * *

**Ooh, Nolo knows Talia! Wonder what the other drivers think about that?  
**

**Spanish translations:****En serio? - Seriously****Tu no recuerdas me? - You don't remember me?****Tu enfermo en la cabeza? Technically it means are you sick in the head, but in the way Talia's asking it, she wants to know if he had amnesia of Alzheimer's.****Ah bueno - oh, good****La primera de abril, mil novecientos noventa y nueve - April 1st, 1999/ April Fools Day, 1999****Nosotros levantamos Tono son las doce y uno por la noche - we woke tone up at 12:01 at night.**

**Anyway, leave me a review!**


	13. Siblings

**Siblings**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing official.**

* * *

"Oh, so you do remember me!" Talia said brightly, ignoring the gasps that came from a few of the racers that already knew her. How on earth did he know her, they were probably wondering. "That's good, I was getting worried for a second."

"What are you doing here?" Nolo asked.

"Hm…eating, sleeping, breathing, racing, not necessarily in that order or simultaneously." Talia replied.

"Very funny." The Teku leader replied sarcastically. "You know what I mean."

"Well, if you're that desperate to know…" Taila said with a shrug, taking in Nolo's scowl. "Yo recibo un correo. It was from Tezla, he invited me to come and race. Why, is there a problem with that?"

"Debido a que podría ser un poco demasiado peligroso para ti." Nolo muttered.

"Too dangerous? Oh give me a break!" Talia said. "Who was the one who begged Tono every single day starting on his ninth birthday to let him drive Synkro? Isn't that dangerous?"

"At least I didn't hotwire it when I was twelve!" Nolo retorted angrily.

"Oh, for the last time, I didn't hotwire it!" Talia stated, a tinge of annoyance creeping into her voice. "Tone left the keys in the ignition! It was begging to be driven. Besides, I was good. I stayed on the property and I didn't crash into anything." Here she paused and looked away. "Well, not anything too big, at least. I never did get all those dents out of the bumper, did I…"

"Exactly my point." Nolo replied.

"Um, I hate to interrupt you two, but who on earth are you?" Tork asked. Nolo scowled at him, while Talia looked at the man.

"Hm, tall, musclebound, African American male with green eyes, black spiky hair and gold earrings." She said, more to herself then the others. "You must be Tork. You do look like her."

"Like who?" Tork queried.

"She means me." The drivers all turned to see another girl exiting the second car, the one that looked like Hollowback. This girl had green eyes, coffee brown skin, and short spiky black hair. She wore black lace up combat boots that went up to her knees, grey distressed jean shorts, a red muscle shirt she had changed into a tank top by ripping the sleeves off, and a hybrid leather jacket with knit sleeves tied around her waist. Gold piercings were in her ears, a black leather choker around her neck, and spiked black leather armbands that were wrapped around her arms.

"Verity?" Tork muttered in astonishment.

"Oh, no fair!" Talia complained. "How come he remembers you and Nolo doesn't remember me?"

"Because if Nolo drives anything like you do, it's a miracle he can remember anything!" She replied calmly. "And besides, from what you told me, the last time you saw him you looked and acted completely different!"

"True." Talia muttered, ignoring the indignant cry of "hey" from her brother, not that the Teku and Metal Maniacs knew that yet.

The brewing tension in the air was dismissed as another flash of light came out of the still open portal. This car came to a stop a couple of yards away from Talia's and Verity's, and bore a strong resemblance to Rivited. The driver's side door was facing away from the group.

"Ooh, she doesn't look happy." Talia noted, leaning back up against her car.

"Five bucks says a drone cut her off right at the end of the race." Verity said, resting her elbows on the hood of the car as well.

"Ten says it scraped her paint job while doing it." Talia replied, gesturing at the scratches on the side of the car. "Looks like she was side-swiped."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the door to the car opened, and then shut. A girl walked around to the other side of the car and examined the scratches, one hand curling up into a fist.

"The next time I see a drone, it's going to pay." She muttered darkly.

"Told ya." Talia muttered triumphantly, while Verity sighed.

"Whatever. Did you see the other two, Terra?"

"One of them." Terra replied tersely, turning to face the group. The drivers who had not previously met her took note of her similar features to Taro. "Our resident jokester's right behind me."

Before anyone could do anything, another car made the jump to the Acceledrome. This one looked like Power Rage, and pulled to a stop, parked similar to Terra's. They could see motion as a door opened up and out, and then a hand was placed on the hood. A blonde girl with blue eyes, lightly tanned skin, and a wicked glint in her eyes pulled herself up out of the car.

"That was wicked! When's the next one open?" She said, sounding completely hopped up on adrenaline. Vert paled.

"Oh no." He muttered. The girl looked his way, slightly confused, before grinning.

"Hiya Greenie! What's up?" She asked.

"It's Vert." The surfer muttered, ignoring the snickers from the rest of the teams. "Yeah, yeah, whatever Greenie." She replied.

"It's Vert!"

"Which is French for green, Greenie!" She said, mischief alight in her eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Aurora? It's Vert!" The blonde Teku practically shouted.

"You keep telling yourself that Greenie!"

"It's Vert!"

"As much as this is amusing, you might want to hold off on driving him insane." Terra pointed out.

"Hm, true, we've got no idea how long this whole race is gonna last!" Aurora noted. "We could be here for weeks, months, even years!"

Vert got even whiter, if possible. "Shoot me now. Somebody please shoot me now." He muttered.

"Okay!" Aurora said before ducking back into her car. "I'm pretty sure I have a rubber band in here somewhere!"

"Never mind that." Talia said, smiling at the look on Vert's face, while Terra smirked, and Verity snickered under her breath. "Did you see our last missing member?"

"Nah," Aurora replied, retreating out of her vehicle yet again. "I heard her, though." Terra snorted at that statement.

"You know with her that means absolutely nothing." She scoffed.

"Well it's nice to see you're still a ray of sunshine." Aurora replied as she walked over to stand next to the quiet girl. Terra scowled.

"Since when have I ever been a ray of sunshine?" Terra muttered.

"You haven't!" Aurora replied with a grin. "Which means you haven't changed a bit!"

The conversation was cut off by two flashes in quick succession, the second being the Realm closing. The klaxons were probably wailing their song, but they couldn't hear them over the techno beats blasting out of the sound system of the truck that had exited the Realm mere moments before it closed. The truck came in for a landing, pulling up so that it was closer to Talia's, but not right next to it.

Music was blaring from a set of ten speakers in the trunk of the truck, which Shirako was staring at enviously. The Metal Maniacs all winced and covered their ears, while Pork Chop bit down on the bone he wore around his neck. The car door, that would normally be on the passenger's side, but instead appeared to be the driver's side, opened.

A girl slid out of the vehicle, short enough that she fell before reaching the ground. She landed on her feet, revealing herself to be short in stature, wearing three layers, and having long blue black hair. Her eyes were closed, and she was bobbing her head to the beat of the music that appeared to be playing over her headphones. It was like staring at Shirako, and gave the drivers a sense of déjà vu.

Pork Chop recovered enough to storm over to the girl, who appeared to be oblivious to the incoming man.

"SCRAP THAT NOISE!" he yelled.

* * *

**Pork Chop's worst nightmare has just come true! Another music junkie is in the house!**

**Spanish translations:**

**Yo recibo un correo - I received a letter.****Debido a que podria ser un poco demasiado peligroso para ti - because it might be a little too dangerous for you.**

**Leave me a review!**


	14. Another Realm

**Another Realm**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

* * *

"What'd you say man?" She replied. "I can't hear you."

"I SAID SCRAP THAT NOISE!" The southerner shouted.

"Aw, dude, I already told you I can't hear you." She said nonchalantly. "And can you take it down a notch? Your voice is messing with my tunes, man!" The Teku, along with the four girls, snickered.

"TURN THAT NOISE DOWN!" Pork Chop bellowed.

"Whatever man," the girl laughed, before pressing a button on her bracelet, which they now could see was a controller. Just like the ones Shirako wore. The music got even louder, if possible, and made the ground shake.

"Yo, Gale." Talia called, after laughing at the Metal Maniac's expressions. "As much as I'm loving the music, you might want to shut it off. We don't want to burst anyone's eardrums on your first day."

"Yo, true." Gale muttered before pressing aa different button. Suddenly the music shut off, and they could hear Pork Chop yelling again.

"YOU LITTLE! YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS THAT STINKU! AND I SWEAR IF YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN I'M GOING TO-"

He was cut off by a laugh from Gale. "Or you'll do what? Stand here and yell at me, man?" She asked. "Try something else, man, cause let me tell you, yelling's not going to work, and it doesn't help your looks, either."

"HEY!" Pork Chop shouted angrily, bristling with rage at the insult. "I SWEAR I'M GOING TO-" Gale finally opened her eyes, revealing them to be storm gray, and looked at the angry southerner with no fear.

"Look, dude." She said. "My car, my rules. If I want to play my music, then I will. You don't want to listen to it, buy some ear plugs. And even if someone else here has a decent sound system, I'm the one you better watch out for."

Pork Chop angrily stormed back over to his teammates, while the rest of the Metal Maniacs and the Teku stared at Gale in shock and admiration. No one, especially skinny, scrawny girls ever stood up to an angry Pork Chop. Heck, most full grown men wouldn't even dream of doing that.

Gig flew up then, breaking the hostile stares more than one of the drivers – namely Pork Chop, Kurt, Wylde, Tork, and Nolo – were giving each other.

"Dr. Tezla will want to study that." The robot said, gesturing as well as he could to the Accelecharger in Nolo's hand. The boy thought it over for a moment, before shrugging.

"Just make sure he gives it back." He said before throwing it to the robot. Gig caught it, how no one had any idea, and flew off. Nolo glared at Tork again. "This doesn't change anything." He promised. "I'm still taking you down."

"Hey, if you wanna take someone on, how you try and take on me!" Wylde offered, moving forward. But Tork blocked him with an arm.

"Tame it, Wylde." He said before looking back at the other boy. "Anytime you're ready Nolo." He said. "Anytime."

Verity rolled her eyes, while Talia groaned. "Don't tell me their still butting heads over that." She said. "Man, you two are as stubborn as bulls! When are the two of you just gonna give it up and move on?"

She was saved from a retort when the klaxons began wailing. The drivers began looking around, Verity standing back up straight. Talia remained leaning against the car, and appeared unconcerned.

"Um, not that I'm complaining or anything." Aurora said. "But I thought these Realms were supposed to be…consistent."

"They're Realms." Terra pointed out. "The only thing they're consistent about is their total lack of consistency."

"But if they aren't consistent about anything, except the fact that they aren't consistent at all, doesn't that mean that they're still consistent about something?" Aurora wondered. Terra rolled her eyes, while Gale groaned and held her head.

"Yo, too much philosophical debate this early in the morning is not a good idea, man." She muttered.

"Consistent or not, we better get ready." Talia said, taking charge. "We're probably racing this one solo."

"What do you mean by that?" Nolo demanded.

"Because, Nolo, all but nine of the cars got caught and crushed by those vines." She replied patiently. "Out of those nine cars, your has a hole in the gas tank and is liable to explode at any moment, Karma still hasn't repaired hers from when it got sent into that stack of tires, and from what Gale and Aurora tell me, both Taro and Shirako cracked axels in the last race. The only cars remaining are Techtyte, Back Alley, Road Rage, Welded, and Bass Vortex. In other words, the cars that I, Verity, Aurora, Terra, and Gale drive."

Before anyone could argue, the intercom crackled to life, and Tezla's voice rang out through the building.

"The following drivers will enter the Realm: Talia Pasero, Verity Maddox, Terra Kitano, Aurora Wheeler, and Gale Takamoto." As the girls names were spoken, looks of shock crossed the Teku and the Metal Maniacs faces. Verity turned to Talia.

"Looks like your guess was spot on, Talia." She said.

"It wasn't a guess." She replied. "I just added up the facts that were presented to me, and I guess that Tezla came up with the same answer that I did. "

Terra scowled. "I thought I told that guy that my name was Terra, no Kitano attached." She said darkly.

"Yo, something tells me that dude hears only what he wants to." Gale muttered.

"Wait…if your last name's Pasero, then that means…?" Kurt started to ask, but Talia cut him off.

"As much as I'd love to chat, I have a Realm to race." Talia pointed out. "But go ahead and ask Nolo, I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you all about his favorite younger sister." With that, she climbed back into her car, and closed the door. It rumbled to life as she inserted the keys.

"Well, I should be going to." Verity said. "Later, bro." With that, she also climbed into her own car. Behind the drivers, the innermost ring of the Wheel of Power stopped rotating. A symbol lit up, signifying that the Realm had been chosen.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Monkey said as he darted over to Terra, who was walking around to the other side of Welded. "Your last name's Kitano, right?"

"So what if it is?" She replied in a low tone of voice, one that would have made full grown men go crying for their mothers.

"Any relation to Taro?" Monkey asked. Terra gave him a black look and then looked over at Taro, an indecipherable expression on her face.

"Unfortunately, yes." She spit out, before stalking around to the other side of the vehicle and climbing in. Talia and Verity pulled 180's and zoomed onto the track, Terra hot on their heels.

"Yo, I would not mention Taro around her." Aurora commented before looking over at the older Asian who surprisingly had a confused look on his face. "No offense, man, but she really doesn't like you."

"Aurora!" Talia's voice came unexpectedly over the radio in Road Rage. "Get your rear in gear, or I swear I'll kick your bumper the minute you get in the Realm!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming, yeesh!" She muttered, before grinning. "I'll catch you later, Greenie." With that she got in her car and zoomed off, ignoring the outraged cry of "IT"S VERT!" from her cousin.

While this conversation was going on, Karma noticed Shirako and Gale staring at each other.

"Gale?" He muttered in shock, and yet at the same time, sounded extremely hopeful. "Is it really you?"

Gale smiled gently at him. "Yo, what up bro?" she asked. "Been a long time since I saw you. Looks like you haven't changed a bit. Guess I can't say the same for me, man." Shirako shook his head and blinked, as if still trying to process something. Gale sighed.

"Yo, I better go before my fearless leader bites my head off. But I'll talk to you later, bro. We got ten years to catch up on, man." With that, she pulled the door opened to her truck and climbed into the cab. The door was shut, and the car turned on. The music returned, and Pork Chop scowled , clutching his ears. Gale followed Aurora onto the track, speeding up.

The Teku and the Metal Maniac watched as the five cars made the jump to the Realm. Then Vert shrugged.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going up to the conference room to watch them race." The surfer said. With that, he walked up the stairs. Gradually, the rest of the Teku and the Metal Maniacs followed him, and they found that Vert had already switched on the TV's.

They displayed only static for a moment, before switching on to displayed the Realm.

* * *

**Done with another. This brings my mega upload to a close. Anyway, leave me a review, and check back soon for the next installment!**


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